Do you know what the statute of limitations in Tennessee is for a car accident? If you've been injured in a car accident, you have only one year to file a claim before the statute of limitations is up. If you miss this deadline by even one day, you might be out of luck. Have you collected enough evidence from the scene of the accident to build a strong case? Have you collected witness statements from the people who were present at the accident? These are all reasons you need to seek out a car accident attorney in Chattanooga, TN. Berke, Berke, & Berke wants you to focus on recovering. We can handle your injury case and fight to get you the maximum compensation that you deserve to cover your injuries, losses, and damages.
Call us at (423) 266-5171 today to schedule your free consultation.
Unforeseen and unexpected, Tennessee car accidents can bring immediate, crippling effects to the injured victim. These accidents are often seized by the guilty party, whose insurance companies dominate and intimidate. It is imperative to seek help from seasoned trial lawyers and have their expertise in your corner.
Drivers in Tennessee need to be informed about their state's comparative negligence law. Modified comparative fault means that if you are involved in an accident, a jury will decide whether you are partly responsible for said accident. If the jury decides you are 50 percent or more at fault, you automatically lose any and all recovery. If they find you less than 50 percent responsible, your compensation is the difference in fault between you and the other party, applied as a percentage to your total losses.
For example, if your losses total $100,000, the other driver is 70 percent at fault and you are 30 percent at fault, your award is the difference—$40,000. What could have been a large recovery is instantly minimized. This law is also in effect for motorcycle and truck accidents. To maximize your recovery, you need a veteran attorney to refute any claim for your responsibility in the accident.
Tennesee law requires drivers to carry liability insurance, but this requirement is one of the lowest in America! Tennessee motorists are only required to carry bodily injury coverage amounting to $25,000 for the death or injury of any one person in a single accident, and $50,000 for all injuries to all persons in any one accident. As for property damage, the minimum is $15,000 for a single accident.
A trip to the emergency room guarantees this liability amount is woefully inadequate. To guarantee maximum recovery, you need qualified lawyers to negotiate a fair settlement, such as the over 80 years combined experience of Berke, Berke & Berke.
With the recent decline and slow growth of the national economy, many drivers are foregoing auto insurance altogether. As recently as September 2011, it was estimated that 24% of Tennessee drivers were uninsured—roughly 1 in 4 drivers. If you are in an accident, damages to your car and bodily injuries are at risk for proper award. You need a qualified and tested car accident attorney to fight for your compensation.
There are three main categories of damages or compensation, an injury victim can pursue after a car accident, special, general, and punitive. Special damages compensate for the financial losses associated with suffering an injury such as medical expenses or the inability to work. Because of this, special damage is also called economic damages.
General damages, on the other hand, compensate for the more abstract losses an injury victim suffers such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. General damages, also called non-economic damages, got their name since they compensate for losses that are difficult to quantify. Tennessee does have a cap, or limit, of $750,000 or $1,000,0000 on non-economic damages depending on the circumstances of your case.
Special and general damages are both categorized as “compensatory damages” meaning their purpose is to compensate the injured party. Punitive damages are the opposite of compensatory damages in that their main purpose is to punish the negligent party. As such they are not often awarded in personal injury cases and are usually reserved for cases where the negligent party knew their actions would cause harm but did them anyway, such as drinking and driving.
If you have been in an accident in Hamilton County or Marion County, then contact our offices today to have the right advocates on your side. The cost is free until we win your trial or negotiate a settlement.
If you can't come to us, we'll come to you! Call (423) 266-5171 today to get started.