Tennessee Injury Lawyer BlogWhat is personal injury law? Personal injury law is the law that covers you if you have been injured as a result of someone else being careless or reckless. Also known as “tort” law, a reference to the French word for “wrong”, personal injury law covers you in the event you or your personal property has been injured or damaged due to someone else’s intentional misconduct.
A common example of personal injury is an injury sustained when someone hits your vehicle from behind while your vehicle is stopped. In this instance you are the plaintiff, the person harmed, and the vehicle owner who struck you is the, defendant or wrongdoer. If you sustain injury as a result of this accident you are entitled to file a personal injury claim to receive monetary compensation for loss of employment, medical expenses or any other loss you may have suffered as a result of the injury.
How is personal injury defined by Tennessee statues?
Tennessee law defines personal injury as an injury received as a result of an individual, business or other entity’s negligence. These injuries could be the result from vehicle accidents, product malfunction, medical malpractice or property liability. There is a one year statute of limitations on filing personal injury claims so it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible after an injury occurs.
Under Tennessee law, personal injury compensation for non-economic damages is limited to $75,000 and is set at $1 million for catastrophic injuries. Non-economic injuries are defined as:
* Pain and suffering
* Emotional distress
* Loss of association or intimate relationships
Catastrophic injures are defined as:
* Amputation of hands/feet
* Third-degree burns covering more than 40% of your body
* Paraplegia or quadriplegia
* Wrongful death of a minor child which was in your custody
* Burns covering up to 40% of your face
Economic damages are unlimited and include any loss of your past and future income as well as past and future medical expenses.
A personal injury attorney from Tennessee will know the laws and have experience in investigating and gathering the information necessary to see you receive full compensation for your injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured due someone else’s negligence seek legal representation today.