If your life has been turned upside down by an unexpected injury in Bristol, Tennessee, you might be dealing with painful symptoms, emotional distress, and financial hardship. If the accident was someone else’s fault, you might wonder who will pay for your injuries. The good news is that you could get money for your injuries by filing a personal injury claim with the help of our Bristol personal injury attorneys.

Get Compensation After Your Personal Injury Accident in Bristol, TN

At The Terry Law Firm, our Bristol injury lawyers are ready to help you seek justice for your losses and secure the compensation you deserve. Our local team of talented legal professionals can handle every aspect of your personal injury claim while you focus on getting better. Since the firm’s founding in 1960, we have helped many of our neighbors throughout East Tennessee recover compensation for a wide variety of personal injuries. We are ready to help you now.

Contact our law firm now to learn more about your legal options in a free case review.

Why You Need Help from Our Bristol Personal Injury Attorneys

Many people struggle with what to do after an unexpected injury because it’s hard to plan ahead when you’re already dealing with painful symptoms. That’s why getting help from the Bristol injury lawyers at The Terry Law Firm is so essential.

When you come to us after an injury accident, you can count on us to help you by:

  • Explaining your legal rights and reviewing your options with you
  • Identifying all possible sources of compensation for your injuries
  • Conducting an independent investigation into the accident that hurt you
  • Uncovering valuable evidence and determining who could be liable
  • Communicating with insurers and other parties on your behalf
  • Obtaining medical records and other documents for your case
  • Interviewing eyewitnesses who saw you get hurt in the accident
  • Working with experts, such as accident reconstruction specialists
  • Managing key case documents, details, and deadlines for you
  • Negotiating aggressively to maximize the value of your settlement
  • Taking your case to court and representing you at trial if necessary

What Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit is a type of legal case in which someone sues another person or organization for causing them harm. Personal injury lawsuits can stem from physical harm, emotional harm, or both. For instance, if someone gets hurt in a car accident, they might file a personal injury lawsuit against the other driver seeking compensation for their medical expenses and other crash-related losses.

The person who files a personal injury lawsuit is called the plaintiff, and the person or organization the plaintiff sues is called the defendant. To get money from most personal injury lawsuits, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s negligent or intentional behavior caused their injuries. In some strict liability cases, a showing of negligence is not required. Your lawyer can advise you whether that applies to your case.

During a personal injury lawsuit, both sides have the opportunity to gather evidence and present their side of the issue. If the plaintiff wins their personal injury lawsuit, the court will order the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for their losses.

Types Of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Bristol, TN

Here at The Terry Law Firm, our Bristol injury lawyers are ready to help with personal injury cases involving the issues including the following examples:

  • Car Accidents
  • Truck Accidents
  • Motorcycle Accidents
  • Bicycle Accidents
  • Pedestrian Accidents
  • ATV Accidents
  • Boating Accidents
  • Premises Liability
  • Slip & Fall Accidents
  • Distracted Driving Accidents
  • Amusement Park Injuries
  • Dog Bites
  • Workplace Accidents
  • Premises Liability
  • Dangerous & Defective Products
  • Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Wrongful Death
  • Social Security Disability
  • Motor Vehicle Defects

Determining Liability in a Bristol Personal Injury Claim

When our personal injury attorneys investigate injury claims in Bristol, TN, we typically rely on the following types of evidence to determine who is liable:

  • Accident reports – If an injury occurs because of a car crash, investigators might review official crash reports for information. Other useful types of accident reports include incident reports from injuries on other people’s property and reports of injuries that occur in the workplace.
  • Photographs – As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is especially true in personal injury cases. Photographs of things like visible injuries and property damage show the nature and extent of any physical consequences of the injury accident.
  • Videos – When available, videos can be even more helpful evidence than a photograph. A recording that shows precisely what happened in the moments before, during, and after an injury accident can reliably confirm or disprove certain facts in an injury claim.
  • Witness statements – Statements from third-party eyewitnesses who saw the accident occur can serve as valuable evidence because these parties have no stake in the outcome of an injury claim.
  • Expert testimony – Attorneys often work with various experts to establish connections in personal injury cases. For instance, a medical expert could testify about the long-term effects of certain injuries, and an accident reconstruction specialist could shed light on the mechanics of how a crash occurred.
  • Documents and records – Other vital documents include your medical records from after the injury accident and paperwork showing how much income you lost due to time away from work.

Potential Compensation in a Bristol Personal Injury Case

With the help of our Bristol personal injury lawyers, you could seek compensation for the following types of injury-related losses:

  • Hospital bills and other medical expenses related to your injuries
  • Lost income from any time you miss at work due to your injuries
  • Losses in lifetime earning capacity due to permanent injuries
  • Pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life
  • Property damage
  • Incidental costs, such as travel expenses for medical appointments

Deadline for Filing Personal Injury Lawsuits in Bristol

The time limit for filing personal injury lawsuits in Tennessee is just one year. That means you have one year from the date when your injury occurs to bring a case against an at-fault party. If you wait too long before filing, the court could dismiss your case, effectively ending your right to demand compensation at trial. That is why working with a personal injury lawyer who can keep your case on track from day one is essential.

Schedule a Free Case Review with Our Experienced Bristol Personal Injury Attorneys

If you’re ready for a Bristol injury lawyer to listen to your story, don’t wait to contact us online or call The Terry Law Firm. You’ll get a small-town firm with big-city know-how. Our initial consultations are always free, and there’s no obligation to move forward before you’re ready.

Tennessee is very unique in that the statute of limitations in Tennessee is much shorter than in other states. The statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Tennessee is generally one (1) year. There are exceptions to the one (1) year statute of limitations.

In Tennessee, one exception to the statute of limitations is the discovery rule. The statute of limitations in Tennessee does not start to run until a person knows or should have known about an injury.

There is currently a provision in the Tennessee Code regarding extending the statute of limitations where persons have criminal charges brought against them and they caused or contributed to an injury. In these cases, it is possible that the statute of limitations may be extended to two (2) years. At this stage, there has been no ruling from the Tennessee Supreme Court on exactly how this statute should be interpreted; therefore, we recommend filing cases within one (1) year.

The statute of limitations in property damage cases in Tennessee is three (3) years and the statute of limitations for a breach of contract in Tennessee is six (6) years. It is important to note that breach of implied warranty of merchantability, which are theories that are often used in product liability cases, carries a six (6) statute of limitations.

At The Terry Law Firm, clients are welcome to come to our Morristown office, our Sevierville office, or our Greeneville office for a free consultation. This is true for virtually any type of case.

In personal injury cases, in particular, The Terry Law Firm works on a contingency fee basis which means that The Terry Law Firm does not receive any compensation, nor are you required to pay anything, unless we are successful on your behalf.

Our general fee in personal injury cases (like most firms) is one-third (1/3). The Terry Law Firm advances all costs and expenses in the case until the matter is resolved. If we are not successful for a client in a personal injury case, then they are not required to pay anything.

The Terry Law Firm regularly handles cases for clients who have been involved in out-of-state accidents. We have handled cases as far west as West Texas and South Dakota. We have had cases in eastern North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida. It is a regular part of The Terry Law Firm’s business to handle cases outside of Tennessee.

Handling a case outside of Tennessee does not cost the client any more than it would if we were handling a case in Tennessee. In fact, the client will likely notice very little difference in a case handled outside of the state versus one handled in the State of Tennessee.