Lebanon Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve been hurt in Lebanon, TN, you need a local law firm with deep experience in all aspects of personal injury law. One that will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
When you work with Mitch Grissim & Associates, you get a TN personal injury lawyer whose compassion, expertise, and drive are unmatched. We’re known in Wilson County, Tennessee, and beyond for giving peerless legal representation to personal injury victims, helping them recover compensation, and holding the at-fault party accountable for their negligence.
When you need legal expertise after an accident or injury, contact Mitch Grissim & Associates for a no-obligation consultation and learn how we can make our decades of combined experience work for you.
Our Personal Injury Practice Areas
With our deep knowledge of Tennessee law, we have worked on personal injury cases in numerous practice areas, recovering millions for our injured clients. Here’s a quick overview of the types of claims our Lebanon attorneys can handle on your behalf.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents can cause serious injuries, leading to major medical bills and lost wages. These can include:
- Car accidents – A relaxing drive to see the sights of Lebanon, such as the Capitol Theater, should never end in tragedy. A car accident can change your life forever, with potential injuries including broken bones, whiplash, concussions, and psychological trauma. If you’ve been rear-ended, side-swiped, or T-boned, we’ll help you submit a claim to get your needs taken care of.
- Public transit injuries – An injury suffered on public transit tends to be more severe, as you aren’t restrained in a seat belt. Our attorneys will hold bus drivers and other motorists accountable for their negligence.
- Motorcycle crashes – Given the lack of protection against a car, motorcyclists may suffer life-altering injuries after an accident, including spinal cord injury or traumatic brain damage.
- DUI – No driver should ever get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, putting others at risk. Because of the risk of speeding and erratic behavior, a personal injury claim resulting from a DUI may result in significant medical expenses for a victim.
- Rideshare (Uber or Lyft) crashes – No one should feel nervous when getting into a rideshare vehicle. Accident victims who used an Uber or Lyft can hold drivers and companies liable for this breach of duty.
- Truck accidents – Given that commercial vehicles tend to be much heavier than the average passenger vehicle, injuries for drivers and passengers are often very severe, including spinal cord damage, brain injuries, and fractured limbs.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death actions can result whenever an injured party passes away as a result of injuries suffered during an accident caused by the negligence of another person or entity. This can include medical malpractice, such as misdiagnosis, or personal injury cases like car accidents.
Such cases can leave surviving family members suffering from psychological trauma, grief, and medical bills from before their loved one passed away, all of which should be compensated by the liable party.
The personal injury attorney from Mitch Grissim & Associates will seek compensation on behalf of those who have tragically lost a loved one, providing both compassion and legal competence to ease the process.
Slip-and-Fall Accidents
This aspect of personal injury law is called premises liability; it means that those who open their premises to the public are expected to provide safe and secure surroundings.
Slipping and falling in a Lebanon, TN business or private residence that you had the right to occupy can result in significant personal injuries, such as spinal cord damage, concussions, bruising, and broken bones.
When you work with us, we’ll negotiate with the liable party’s insurance company and, if necessary, provide legal representation at trial in order to get you justice for a business or homeowner’s failure to ensure their guests are safe.
Dog Bites
While dogs are wonderful companions, they can also be dangerous, which is why pet owners are always responsible for ensuring their dogs never harm someone.
Far from being a little nip, a personal injury involving a dog bite can lead to significant damage, particularly for children. This can include crushed fingers, bruising, and even infections from the bacteria in a dog’s mouth.
Your attorney will help you recover the maximum compensation to help you heal from the pain and suffering that results when a friendly pet goes feral.
Other Types of Personal Injury Cases
Our personal injury lawyers represent clients in a variety of other cases as well, which can include:
- Amputations
- Boating Accidents
- Brain Injuries
- Burn Injuries
- Construction Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
Personal Injury Laws in Lebanon, TN
As with other states, Tennessee personal injury claims are based on negligence, which means that the liable party failed to act as a reasonable person would in order to avoid an accident. The four main components of personal injury claims in Lebanon, TN, are as follows:
- Legal duty – The at-fault party had a responsibility to keep you safe and avoid an accident.
- Breach of duty – The defendant breached this duty somehow, whether that was not driving according to the rules of the road or not ensuring that a dangerous dog was properly muzzled and leashed in public.
- Cause – The other party’s actions caused your injury. Sometimes, this is very clear-cut, while at other times, it may not be as obvious. Your attorney will use all the facts of the case to demonstrate that your injuries are a direct result of the defendant’s failure to act appropriately.
- Damages – It must be proven that you suffered some loss as a result of the accident, such as lost wages, medical expenses, or damage to personal property.
Personal injury cases are different from criminal defense, as you only need a preponderance of evidence that the liable individual or organization was responsible for your injury rather than proving it beyond a reasonable doubt. Regardless, our firm will seek all available evidence to provide overwhelming proof of your claim.
Tennessee Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims
Tennessee has a very short statute of limitations for a personal injury claim. You have only one year after the accident, or after the person’s death in a wrongful death case, to file a claim.
Your personal injury lawyer will strive to settle the case out of court with the insurance company, and this can take months. As such, you need to act fast so that you can open a lawsuit within the statute of limitations. When you’ve been injured, call our law firm at 615-255-9999 as soon as possible for a free consultation.
Personal Injury Damage Cap
Like other states, Tennessee imposes a cap on non-economic damages that you can recover in a personal injury lawsuit. Typically, this is a maximum of $750,000, to be split amongst all parties that are responsible.
So, for example, if you are seeking compensation from both an individual and their employer, there will be a maximum amount awarded, and they will each be responsible for part of this sum.
However, the cap rises to $1 million if the injured suffered catastrophic damages. These are defined as:
- Spinal cord injuries that resulted in paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Amputations of two hands, two feet, or one hand and one foot
- Third-degree burns over 40% of the body or, in the case of facial disfiguration, 40% of the face
With a wrongful death case, the catastrophic injury clause comes into play if the injured party had legal custody of a minor child or children.
Comparative Liability
Tennessee uses a modified comparative negligence system. This means that as long as you were not more than 49% responsible for the personal injury, you can receive compensation. Your settlement will be reduced proportionate to the percentage of blame you have been assigned.
For example, if it’s found that you are 20% responsible for your injury, you will receive 20% less than you would have if you were found 100% blameless.
Personal Injury Damages You Can Seek in Lebanon, Tennessee
When you talk to a personal injury lawyer about your claim, we’ll discuss the different types of damages you can recover. These are separated into two types: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages can include the following:
- Medical expenses – Medical bills resulting from another person’s negligence should not be your responsibility. This can include things like X-rays, surgeries, and physical therapy.
- Lost income – If you had to take time off work to recover, sought different employment because you could no longer perform your duties, or left the job force entirely and took Social Security disability, we’ll make sure you are duly compensated.
Non-economic damages can include:
- Pain and suffering – Your physical pain should not be discounted. If you were left with severe injuries that caused significant discomfort, this will be factored into your compensation.
- Emotional distress – Recovering from an accident can be very traumatizing, leaving you with PTSD, depression, or anxiety. It can also reduce how much you enjoy your everyday life, which should be considered when determining your compensation.
- Loss of consortium – Personal injury is difficult on the family, too. Loss of consortium means that the injured person can no longer provide the support and companionship to their family that they did before the accident; this also includes when the victim passes away and leaves their family alone.
Your Lebanon, TN, personal injury lawyer will take all these factors into account when negotiating your settlement, ensuring that the liable individuals understand how their negligence changed your life.
Contact Experienced Lebanon Personal Injury Lawyers
We fight hard for our Wilson County clients to ensure they receive the compensation they need and deserve after an accident. Our client reviews speak for themselves. Mitch Grissim & Associates’ lawyers have helped hundreds of clients move on from an injury, knowing their needs will be taken care of.
Our deep knowledge of Tennessee personal injury law, combined with our years of experience assisting our Lebanon neighbors, ensures that you’ll get the best treatment possible and the best settlement available.
Contact a Tennessee personal injury lawyer to receive a free consultation, where we’ll discuss every aspect of your case and explain how we can get you justice for your pain and suffering.
