Settlements (when you and your attorney reach an agreement with the at-fault party’s insurance company or attorneys) and judgments (when you and your attorney take your case to trial and win in front of a Judge or Jury) in Tennessee vary in their amounts.  Just yesterday I settled a case for $39,000.00 at a mediation and my client was thrilled with the result.  I drove from the mediation back to my office and started working on a pending case where we are expecting a settlement of over $1,000,000.00 to be paid because the at-fault party knows my client has a good case and the insurance company doesn’t want to take their chances at trial.  Once I actually receive the firm settlement numbers, I will discuss them with my client and we will decide if she wants to accept the settlement or go to trial.

$39,000 versus $1,000,000 = Why the big difference?  Well the first thing is the severity of the injury itself.  Of the two above, the first one involved a lady who had a slight injury to her arm in an accident that was painful and required her to take a few weeks off work and physical therapy, but is now fully healed and my client is back at work.  The later involves woman who was severely injured in a wreck with a commercial truck and who had to undergo several surgeries, extensive hospitalization and pain and suffering, and a period of time confined to a wheelchair.  While she will probably be able to return to some type of employment, she will never be able to do the physically demanding job (veterinary technician) that she was doing prior to the accident and this will affect her future earnings potential.

The amount of the award not only depends on the severity of the injury and the employee’s ability to perform work after the injury, but also depends on several other factors such as:

  • What Part of the Body is Injured
  • Severity of the Injury
  • Whether or Not the Injury is Permanent
  • Pain and Suffering
  • Permenant Restrictions Given By  the Physician
  • Employees Average Weekly Pay
  • Past Injuries and Disabilities
  • Loss of Use of a Body Part
  • Vocational Disability (How the Injury Affects your Ability to Earn a Living)
  • and other factors that your attorney should be able to explain to you in detail.

As you can see from the factors above, these cases are complicated and the awards do vary – a lot!  It is very important for you to find an experienced car accident attorney so your settlement or judgment can be maximized.

Once you settle, that’s it – you cannot go back to the well and get more money if you settled too low!  Make sure you have an expierenced Tennessee attorney on your side. We maximize these awards for a living.  The adjusters and their lawyers minimize your award for a living.  Make sure you make it a fair fight.  We have several weapons on our arsenol to fight for you – our experience, past success, and the fact that we are Board Certified Trial Attorneys.  When the at-fault party’s insurance company and their attorneys see that we are on the case, they know that we aren’t just after a quick and dirty settlement.  If we, or our clients, aren’t happy – we’re going to court to fight in front of a Judge and Jury.  And, while most cases do settle at our practice and in every law practice in Tennessee, we do love a good fight in the courtroom!

If you have been injured in Tennessee, please call or click to discuss your claim with a real attorney at Keith Williams Law Group.  We can help!

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