Memphis Injury Law Blog : Memphis Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : James Ferrell Law Firm : Tennessee, Mississippi

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It’s one of the most high profile dog bite attack cases that Memphis dog bite attorneys have seen in recent times. A Cordova woman was attacked by a pack of three pit bulls last Thursday as she was taking her morning walk with her son’s dog. The brutality of the attack and the owner’s previous record of letting his dogs run loose, have sparked an uproar in the community.

The three pit bulls apparently ran out from a nearby house, and attacked the victim, Helen Marshall’s husky. When Marshall tried to save her dog from the attack, the pit bulls turned on her. When help finally arrived, the 62-year-old woman was lying on the ground with several bite marks on her hand and arms. The dogs have been taken to the Memphis Animal Shelter.  Marshall is still being treated for her injuries that include more than 50 bite wounds on her hands and arms.

As a Tennessee dog bite attorney, I know for a fact that those kinds of bites can be painful for a young adult to bear, and must have been especially traumatic for the 62-year-old woman who. According to Marshall’s husband, who is a school teacher, his wife’s hands are still badly injured from the attack, and she might not be able to return to her job as a data processor soon. To add to their worries, her medical bills are piling up.

The owner of the dog, Andre Robinson has been arrested, and this week, a judge lowered his $500,000 bond. Robinson’s neighbors say that the three dogs have been a menace ever since he moved to the area about a year ago. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that there have been at least two calls about these dogs running loose. In fact, Robinson seems to have a maverick attitude towards dog ownership. His former neighbors also say that they had problems with his dogs running loose.

As a Memphis dog bite lawyer, I sometimes find that whenever there is a dog bite attack case like this one, there is passionate debate involving the keeping of certain breeds of dogs that are seen to be more aggressive, like Rottweilers and pit bulls. Unfortunately, I see that these aggressive breeds are often reared by people, who have little appreciation for the extra effort and care that goes into raising these dogs. The results are tragic not just for the victims of these attacks, but also for the dogs, who may have to be put down after an attack. 

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Last week Commercial Appeal columnist Richard Locker wrote about a bill that just died in the Tennessee House of Representatives – a bill meant to limit the amount of damages one could seek from nursing homes in liability lawsuits. The bill was meant to cap two kinds of losses: “noneconomic” (meaning pain, suffering, etc.) and punitive damages. Noneconomic losses would have been capped at $300,000, while punitive damages would have been capped on a sliding scale from $300,000 to $1.5 million.

We have to agree with the AARP argument in this case – if you cap the amounts that these nursing homes can pay out, you are likely to decrease the quality of care they will provide. If they know they can get away with a sub-standard basis of care and only be liable for paying out a limited specified amount, they will probably push the limits on how poorly they can perform before paying out limited monies in liability lawsuits. In fact, the article states that in a study run on states that have capped payouts, the overall quality of health care has declined measurably. On the other hand, states that have enacted quality standards have seen lawsuits decrease. 

Because the bill did not move forward as the result of a tied vote, it could come back up as a possibility next year. What do you think Tennessee should do – move to cap payouts, or move to enact quality standards?

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Earlier this week the Washington Post’s Cindy Skrzycki wrote an article about a measure passed quietly at the end of President Bush’s term in office that will severely hinder your and my ability to effectively sue nursing homes for abuse and neglect. The new rule re-designates state inspectors and Medicaid and Medicare contractors as federal employees. As a group, federal employees are protected from having to provide evidence to either side of a private lawsuit. 

This change means much more legwork, legal fees, and extended timeframes for people pursuing justice against criminally negligent or abusive nursing homes. Once a relatively smooth process, requesting information is now causing stalling in the courtrooms, already affecting several cases.

What can you do about this? Contact your senators here in Tennessee or Mississippi to let them know how you feel about this new rule. They are elected to represent you, and your voice matters. See below for your senators’ contact information:

Senator Lamar Alexander, TN
Office of Senator Alexander
SD-455 / Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-4944
Fax: (202) 228-3398

Senator Bob Corker, TN
Dirksen Senate Office Building
SD-185
Washington, DC 20510 
Main: 202-224-3344
Fax: 202-228-0566

Senator Thad Cochran, MS
United States Senate 
113 Dirksen Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510-2402 
Main: 202-224-5054 

Senator Roger F. Wicker, MS
487 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington , DC 20510 
Main: 202-224-6253
Fax: 202-228-0378

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Another case of nursing home abuse (or lack of supervision) hit the news yesterday here in Memphis. WMC-TV Channel 5 reported last night (their video and report can be found here) that eighty-seven year-old Mary Alice Oates was allowed to wonder the streets of midtown Memphis during the early morning/late night hours of Sunday night.

It appears that Mrs. Oates somehow was able to walk out the front doors of the Overton Park Health Care Center without anyone even noticing. What's worse is that after walking outside Mrs. Oates suffered serious injuries and had to be taken to local hospital. This trip to the hospital was apparently Mrs. Oates third trip in just a few months, all because of injuries that occurred while in the nursing homes supposed care.

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In my last post I wrote about car wrecks and the injuries and damages that can occur when you are rear ended by another car. These wrecks can happen very fast and with little notice.

Just last night I was driving north on I-55 in Memphis and took the East I-240 exit. Upon getting on the on/off ramp I came across a driver who had come to a complete stop on the ramp. Because I was driving at a safe speed and safe distance from any other vehicles I was luckily available to stop in time and avoid him. However the cars that were driving behind me were not so lucky.

After avoiding and moving around the car that was stopped (someone from out of state who didn't understand that he was supposed to continue in his lane and then merge with traffice) I saw and heard other cars slamming on their brakes and sliding off of the road to try to keep from hitting the car in front of them. With the end result being multiple rear end collisions by drivers who were going too fast on the ramp. It's likely that the passengers of the cars that these drivers hit sustained some type of back or neck injury due to the speed that the cars that hit them were going.

The lesson here is to make sure that you always drive in a defensive manner. Be prepared for the unexpected and know what to do if you encounter a situation such as this. Stay a safe distance from the car in front of you and be aware of who is behind you at all times. You don't want to be sued or sue someone because you were hurt in a car wreck. It's always better to be able to drive away from a potential crash without suffering any damage that is it to be in one and go through the process of filing claims and having both your body and property repaired.

Luckily my family and I escaped this incident without any scratches or injuries to our car or bodies. The people behind us weren't so lucky.

 If you've been in a Memphis car wreck or accident where you were hurt call the best Tennessee or Mississippi lawyer you can find to help you recover for your injuries and damages. They'll help you through the whole process as quickly and painlessly as possible while getting you the most money for your injuries.  If you meet our strict client guidelines I would be happy to meet with you to discuss your claim. And even if you don't meet our client guidelines we'd be happy to send you a list of Memphis, Tennessee and Mississippi lawyers to contact who can help you with your claim.

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It's the number one cause of car wrecks and accidents both here in Memphis, Tennessee and in Mississippi, the rear end collision. It usually occurs in one of two ways. Either you're stopping for a red light when someone from behind decides to not stop or your on one of the interstate's on or off ramps and someone plows into you from behind.

In either case the end result can be quite damaging both to your property and your body. In a rear end collision the driver and passengers of the car that was hit often sustain injuries such as whiplash, back pain, neck pain, ruptured disks, bulging disks or herniated disks. And in the most serious of cases someone could be paralyzed or killed as a result of the wreck.

Q: What do you do if you've been hurt in a car wreck where you were rear ended?

A: The first and most important step to take is to get yourself and your passengers to a doctor or hospital to check on your injuries. Often times when a person is struck from behind in a car wreck they aren't yet aware of the totality of their injuries. This can be because of many reasons such as being distraught or from the "rush" of adrenaline that comes from being hit from behind.

You should immediately seek medical attention though to find out the extent of your injuries. Many people don't even recognize the injuries when they first appear, but instead notice them the days after the wreck. If you were hit in a car wreck you need to make sure that you get proper care the day of the injuries (if you can't that day go as soon as possible) or you risk having the insurance company claim that the injuries did not occur in the wreck.

Your next step should be get all of the information from the driver of the vehicle and get the names and contact information of any witnesses who may have seen the accident. You need the name of the other driver so that if a claim is necessary you know who to file it  against. And you should also get the names and contact information of the witnesses so that you will be able to call them if you file a claim. Of course, if you can't do this because you are injured make sure that you have someone else do this for you or make sure the police get the information in their official report.

The third step is to contact your insurance company and let them know of the injury. For reasons why see my previous post here

The final step, if needed, is to contact a reliable and experienced Mississippi or Tennessee personal injury or accident lawyer. They can help make sure that your claim is handled fairly and correctly.

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That’s the question we hear more than any other by people just like you who call our law office. Most are asking that question because they either aren’t sure if we could help them with their injury case or they don’t live in or around Memphis and North Mississippi and want to know if we can help them where they live.

The answer to both is “Yes we can”. But that comes with one stipulation. We ONLY help people who really need our help. What does that mean? It means that we don’t take frivolous cases with minor injuries. You can call the “Heavy Hitter” or “One call, that’s all” injury lawyers and law firms here in Memphis and throughout Mississippi and Tennessee for those type of cases. If you’ve sprained an ankle or bumped your head slightly please DO NOT call us. My office is not set up to act as a personal injury and accident law mill. I don’t take “any and all” cases and try to settle them as quickly as possible just to move on to the next case.

What we handle are cases that involve serious injuries such as ruptured or slipped disks in the back, traumatic brain injury, loss of limbs, death and etc. We are focused on helping these people who need the best legal representation available. So if you fit these simple guidelines I’m here to help you, no matter where you are located in Tennessee or Mississippi.

If you have any questions please call me at my Olive Branch, Mississippi office or call Chris Johnson at our Memhis Office. And be sure to request my FREE book “The 7 Deadly Mistakes That Can Kill Your Memphis Accident Case” to read more about how we can help you.

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That’s the question that each and every victim of an accident has to decide at some point. There are both pros and cons for each. Unfortunately no two situations are ever alike and your reasons for either taking an early settlement or going all the way to court will be different than your neighbors. But if you’ve been injured in an accident you need to know the following information before making your decision:

• How often does the plaintiff (that’s you) win when they take their cases to court? According to the people who keep such statistics, plaintiffs usually win about 60-65% of the time in court. Even the most experienced lawyer has probably lost a case in court that they thought was a guaranteed win. And the same lawyer has probably won a case where they never expected it. The thing is, it’s impossible to know for sure how a judge or jury is going to decide a case.  That’s why a truly great attorney will never guarantee a victory. You just never know what’s going to happen when you enter the “wild west” of the courtroom. The term “Life’s a gamble” could certainly apply to the courtroom because anytime you allow a group of strangers the chance to decide your cases fate it’s definitely a gamble. One in which no one knows what the outcome will be.
• My colleague and fellow trial lawyer Chris Davis summarized juries in the following statement. And here in Mississippi and Memphis his statements certainly ring true.  “If the OJ Simpson case has taught us anything, it should be the common knowledge that is shared among trial lawyers: any case can be lost at trial because juries are unpredictable.  Two different juries deciding the same case can produce two very different verdicts, even when hearing the same evidence and testimony.  You may get a “good” group of jurors or a “bad” group.  Common to popular myth, you cannot “select” a good jury over a bad one.  The law only allows each side to strike 3 jurors out of a panel of 30 to 40 people.  This means the lawyer is pretty much stuck with whoever shows up for jury service and ends up on the jury.”
• What if you go to trial and win? Are you guaranteed to receive more money from the jury than you would have in a settlement? No, you’re not. I’ve seen some very large verdicts and I’ve seen some verdicts that left the plaintiff disappointed, even though they won. Be sure that you’re ready to accept whatever the jury decides if you take your case to trial.
•  We’ve all seen the huge verdicts and dollars handed down by juries. But what you usually don’t see is the appeal by the defendant (the person we’re suing). Almost every time there is a large verdict there is also an appeal. This means that the case will take anywhere from 2 to 5 years longer before you’ll ever see any money. And that’s IF the appeals court finds in your favor and doesn’t reduce the award.
• One of the toughest decisions you’ll have to make is trying to decide between the risk of losing at trial or receiving a lower verdict against the chance that you’ll be awarded a larger amount by the jury. This isn’t something that can be guaranteed and there’s no formula for making this decision. No one knows for sure what the outcome will be, but by choosing an experienced Memphis or Mississippi personal injury or accident lawyer you may increase your odds of being successful
• At trial it’s not about the “truth” but rather it’s about what the jury believes. And unfortunately at injury trial lawyer’s aren’t always able to get all evidence and “hearsay” heard by the court. The strict rules and regulations the court has can limit what we, as attorneys, can say and present to the jury. What ends up happening is the jury makes a decision on what they perceive to be the truth, not necessarily what is the actual truth. What you see as the truth and believe to be correct is not always the way that the jury will see it.
• What the insurance offers to settle your case will never be the same as what they expect the value of the case to be if they think the jury will decide in favor of you. The insurance company is not going to agree to pay you what they think a jury would pay you. This is because they know that it’s going to be expensive and risky for you to “take them to court”. Why am I telling you this? Because you need to know that we can’t make a settlement demand that is far too high or the insurance company will immediately cancel all negotiations. You can’t just ask for a crazy amount of money to “see what happens”. The insurance companies know how much juries are awarding for cases similar to yours. They have a whole database that shows them what types of awards have been given. When determining your settlement demand we must take this into account in order to get the largest settlement possible.
• How does an insurance company decide how much to offer and accept for a settlement? We’ll there are many factors, but among them are the following: is it clear who’s fault the injury was, will you (the plaintiff) look sympathetic to a jury, are the injuries serious, what type of awards have been given in similar cases. And finally the lawyer’s reputation.