Under the state law of Tennessee, families of the children who died in a school bus accident on Monday, November 21 can receive no more than $750,000 from the defendants. Unfortunately, 2011 amendments made to Tennessee’s tort reform law capped payouts in personal injury lawsuits against doctors and other businesses at $750,000.
That means this law is bad news for family members who will sue Warrenville-based school bus operator Durham School Services and the bus driver, Johnthony Walker, who lost control and crashed the bus into a utility pole and tree. The accident led to the death of six children, whose families can receive only that amount or less, even though the lives of children were at stake.
If you are faced with a debilitating injury due to a personal injury accident in Nashville or another area in Tennessee, enlist the legal services of our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP. Call our offices today at 615-277-2765 so we can help you file the appropriate lawsuit against the people responsible for your plight.
After a fatal bus accident in Tennessee, bus driver John Walker is facing five counts of vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.
In Tennessee, vehicular homicide is the reckless killing while driving an automobile resulting from conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person. Vehicular homicide is classified as a Class C felony, which carries with it a sentence of three to 15 years of imprisonment. However, if a driver has prior convictions for driving under the influence or vehicular assault, or if one has a BAC of .20%, the charge may increase to a Class A felony. This upgrade increases the potential sentence to a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 60 years of imprisonment. Walker is also facing reckless endangerment charges, which constitutes reckless conduct that places or has the potential to place other people in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
If you are hurt in a personal injury accident that occurred in Nashville or another area of Tennessee, press charges against the people responsible for your plight. Call our offices today at 615-277-2765 to get the help of our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP.
Kalvyn Johnson-Bey and Carleen Scrogham, parents of 18-year-old Hope, Tennessee resident Xavier Scrogham filed a tort claim for personal injury against the town of Nashville and Nashville police officer Leonard Burch on Friday, September 16. Scrogham was killed after a police chase was started by 25-year-old Burch at 11:36 p.m. on August 29, 2016 on U.S. Route 31.
Burch, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, said Scrogham passed his vehicle on a motorcycle going 120 miles per hour in a 911 cellphone call with Bartholomew County emergency dispatchers. However, the legal counsel for Scrogham’s parents, Trent McCain, said Scrogham “made a mistake” and that “he should not have done what he did.” McCain notes also that Scrogham “was chased by a young man in T-shirts and shorts in a police car for 20 miles out of the officer’s jurisdiction” and that Burch was acting in the capacity of a “power-drunk cowboy” in his pursuit of Scrogham.
Our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP provide legal services for our clients in Nashville and other areas of Tennessee. We handle personal injury accident cases such as auto accidents and wrongful death cases, among others. Call our offices today at 615-277-2765 to learn more about your legal options.
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that the league’s 32 club owners will be providing an additional $100 million for efforts to advance medical engineering and research into preventing, diagnosing, and treating head injuries, on top of the $100 million already spent on medical and neuroscience research.
The project, called the Play Smart Play Safe initiative, also mandates that a physician is hired to serve as the league’s official chief medical officer.
Goodell said that the NFL had already made 42 rule amendments – such as employing 29 medical professionals during each game – since 2002.
In 2015, a federal judge approved a settlement for 80 concussion-related lawsuits on behalf of more than 2,000 NFL players that was filed as s single class-action lawsuit. The agreement gives up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with serious head trauma, baseline medical exams for retired NFL players, and financial awards for retired players who were diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
By filing a personal injury lawsuit against the individuals that caused you harm in Nashville or other areas in Tennessee, you can hold them liable for the consequences of their actions or inactions. Get in touch with our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP by calling our offices today at 615-277-2765.
The children of the 83-year-old Irudayam Yeddanapalli filed a lawsuit against the Pflugerville, Texas-based water park Hawaiian Falls for damages of over $100,000 after Yeddanapalli drowned at the water park in May 2014.
According to the lawsuit, Yeddanapalli was submerged at the bottom of a wading pool for a full two to three minutes before lifeguards came to his rescue. Afterwards, Travis County Emergency Services personnel performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him, but they were unable to bring him back to consciousness. Scott Hendler, the family’s legal counsel, said: “Had he been pulled out of the pool immediately and administered CPR, he had a 90% chance of survival.”
Take legal action against people who are guilty of reckless, negligent, and irresponsible behavior if their actions cause harm to others. If you were the victim of a personal injury accident in Nashville or another area of Tennessee, get in touch with the attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP by calling our offices today at 615-277-2765.
A new study in the latest issue of BMJ, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal, shows that most medical errors go unnoticed, especially in official records.
In their study, it was revealed doctors estimate around 251,454 deaths resulting from medical malpractice yearly in the United States.
This statistic is higher than the number released by a 1999 study from the Institute of Medicine, which lists the number of deaths in the 44,000 to 98,000 range, while other studies estimated medical-error related deaths are about 195,000 per year.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General reported in 2008 there had been 180,000 patients who died due to medical error in Medicare patients alone.
Dr. Martin Makary, a professor of surgery and health policy at Johns Hopkins, stated the reason behind the different number of reports on deaths via medical errors is due to the lack of accurate data on these kinds of fatalities.
At Pohl & Berk, LLP, we know how difficult it is for personal injury accident victims to return to their everyday life after experiencing a traumatic incident in Tennessee. Our legal team wishes to restore normalcy in our client’s life by do everything in our power to provide justice and financial compensation via aggressive and compassionate legal representation. Call our offices today at 615-277-2765.
House Bill 700, which was filed by State Representative Jay Reedy (R) at the Tennessee House of Representatives, seeks to provide the choice of wearing a helmet to motorcycle riders while riding their motorcycles. The bill was easily passed in the House Finance, Ways and Means subcommittee.
The main provision of the bill is to make motorcycle riders who are at least 21 years old and who have motorcycle and health insurance exempted from the mandatory helmet law. The bill does not extend the same privileges to those whose health insurance is provided by the state, such as TennCare.
Supporters of the bill argue citizens should have the right to choose while those who oppose the bill claim it would be a mistake to allow riders to use their motorcycles without proper protection.
There are many factors to a dangerous motor vehicle accident on the road – defective automotive design, unsafe roadways, and irresponsible motorists. If you have been seriously hurt in a personal injury incident, such as a motorcycle accident, in Nashville or other areas in Tennessee, please get in touch with our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP by calling our offices at 615-277-2765 today.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has recently overturned a decision made by a Hamilton County trial court that determined a state law placing a cap on non-economic personal injury damage settlements is unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court’s ruling centered on more technical grounds of the trial court’s decision rather than speaking to the constitutionality of the cap.
The Hamilton County trial court ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Donald and Beverly Clark after Donald was hurt in an automobile accident; the couple sought a constitutionality ruling on the state law that puts the ceiling of non-economic damages at $750,000 for certain personal injury cases. The trial court deemed the cap unconstitutional after the defendant filed a summary judgment. This decision was overturned after the high court determined that the trial court’s consideration of the motion for summary judgement was premature.
Being hurt in an accident in Tennessee can be traumatizing and debilitating no matter what the circumstances are. In such cases, our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP are here to provide legal help. To discuss your case with an attorney today, call our office at 615-277-2765.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission recently reported that American home improvement and construction products retailer Home Depot is recalling around 120,000 bike hooks under the Husky Securelock brand after 22 reports of collapsing hooks, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reported on April 15.
The defective hooks were manufactured in China for Waterloo Industries of Iowa. The complaints did not indicate that the broken hooks contributed to the occurrence of personal injury accidents, but it was evident that the broken hooks caused damage to bikes and nearby vehicles.
Waterloo Industries of Iowa has already issued a recall of around 105,000 hooks sold in the United States and 15,000 sold in Canada.
When products that are supposedly well-made and well-manufactured serve as hazards to the public because of their low quality and substandard craftsmanship, the companies that made these products may be held liable. If you want to lodge a product liability lawsuit against a company and you live in Nashville or other areas of Tennessee, obtain the legal assistance of our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP, by dialing 615-277-2765 today.
A Georgia jury ruled on Thursday, April 2 that auto manufacturer Chrysler will have to pay $150 million to the family of four-year-old Remington “Remi” Walden, who died after the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was riding with his aunt caught fire after a rear-end collision in March 2012.
According to court records, the Jeep’s fuel tank leaked, causing the Jeep to subsequently burst into flames.
Two years ago, Chrysler agreed to a scaled-down recall of some older-model Jeeps that have rear-mounted gas tanks, which can be left unsecured in the event of a rear-end collision, thus causing them to be susceptible to causing fires.
If you have been hurt in a personal injury accident caused by the negligence and irresponsibility of other parties in Nashville or other areas in Tennessee, seek the legal assistance of our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP by calling our offices at (615) 277-2765 today.
