Metro Nashville Traffic Accidents

During a free case evaluation with a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan, the attorney assigned to your case reviews evidence and the official police report to determine the cause of the crash. Determining the cause of an auto collision provides your lawyer with insight into whether the other party committed one or more acts of negligence.

Here are the four most common causes of metro Nashville traffic accidents:

Distracted Driving

Tennessee law makes it illegal to hold a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. The Hands-Free Law also prohibits drivers from making an attempt to reach for a mobile electronic device. Despite the passage of the Hands-Free Law, many drivers continue the dangerous practice of texting while driving. If you can prove another driver hit your vehicle while texting and driving, you might have enough evidence to prove negligence. Other types of distracted driving include combing hair and eating a meal.

Reckless Driving

Speeding is the most frequently cited type of reckless driving that causes vehicle collisions. According to a 2018 research study completed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle drivers that operate automobiles at excessive speeds cause more than 25 percent of all accidents that result in at least one fatality. Another common type of reckless driving is running a stop sign or a red light. This type of reckless driving can lead to a side-impact collision, which represents one of the worst types of car crashes.

Driving Under the Influence

Like most states, Tennessee has established a maximum Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level of 0.08 for the operators of motor vehicles. Driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol often results in developing poor motor skills that include slow reaction times to events that occur on Tennessee roads and highways. Operating a vehicle while under the influence also causes drivers to make bad decisions, such as trying to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone. Not only does a driver commit an act of negligence by causing a crash while under the influence, but the driver also might face criminal charges for exceeding the 0.08 BAC level. 

Bad Weather

Bad weather is the source of causing a high percentage of metro Nashville traffic accidents. From fierce thunderstorms that produce torrential rains to ice storms that bring the city to a sudden halt, bad weather can cause a vehicle collision that results in serious injuries. If bad weather causes you to get involved in a car accident, the only course of action you can take is to file an insurance claim. Your car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan submits evidence that includes photographs of the accident scene, as well as a report describing the weather conditions at the time of the accident.

Each state has set a deadline for plaintiffs to file personal injury lawsuits. Most states have established a statute of limitations between two and four years. However, some states provide as long as six years and as short as one year for plaintiffs to take legal action against another party for causing a vehicle collision. With a few exceptions, Tennessee provides plaintiffs with just one year to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. The relatively short deadline for taking legal action requires you to act with a sense of urgency by immediately contacting a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan.

Acting with a sense of urgency helps you recover from financial losses faster than if you procrastinate when filing a civil lawsuit. You are responsible for all expenses until you receive compensation from an insurance company and/or a favorable legal decision that awards you monetary damages. Hiring a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan immediately after an auto crash allows your lawyer to get the most accurate statements from witnesses. Witness accounts of events tend to be much more accurate the closer they are given to the date of metro Nashville traffic accidents.

If you fail to file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the Tennessee statute of limitations, the court clerk processing your lawsuit removes it from the judicial docket.

Filing a civil lawsuit can turn out to be a costly and time-consuming process. However, your Morgan and Morgan car accident lawyer can end the litigation process by negotiating a favorable settlement.

Most negotiations that unfold during the litigation process require the completion of three steps. The following steps typically happen during the discovery phase of the litigation process, which is when both parties share physical evidence and the statements made by witnesses.

Calculate a Reasonable Value

Calculating a reasonable value for economic damages is easy because your car accident lawyer refers to the medical bills associated with diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. The complexity of calculating a reasonable value for compensation involves non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. Many metro Nashville traffic accidents result in the development of emotional distress issues that can include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Your car accident lawyer calculates a fair value for non-economic damages by using a formula that includes the value of economic damages.

Send the Defendant’s Attorney a Demand Letter

An experienced car accident lawyer understands how to craft a compelling demand letter. A demand letter must include a reasonable value for compensation, as well as a detailed explanation of how your Morgan and Morgan attorney calculated a fair value for monetary damages. Your lawyer also includes a description of what happened before, during, and after the vehicle collision. The demand letter should include the date when your attorney sent the correspondence by certified mail. Sending a demand letter via certified mail ensures the other party received the letter. The other party has 45 days to respond to the demand letter before you can start negotiations.

Negotiations

Negotiations begin when your car accident lawyer submits an initial offer that the other party either accepts, rejects, or sends back with a counteroffer. If the other party rejects the initial offer, your attorney decides whether to end negotiations and move to the trial phase of the litigation process. In most cases, the other party sends a counteroffer instead of outright rejecting the initial offer. A series of counteroffers can follow until both parties agree to a settlement or decide to take the case to trial.

Although most negotiations occur during the discovery phase of the litigation process, the judge hearing your case can request both parties attempt to negotiate a settlement during any phase of the litigation process.

When you search for a car accident attorney, you should consider several factors before deciding on the best candidate.

Experience

Experience involving metro Nashville traffic accidents should be the first search criterion on your list. An experienced car accident lawyer understands Nashville traffic laws, as well as has developed positive professional relationships with insurance adjusters operating around the state. Experience includes compiling an impressive record of winning legal judgments, as well as getting clients the compensation they deserve from filing an insurance claim.

Positive Reviews

Although online reviews should not be the most important factor when searching for the best attorney to handle one of the many types of cases involving metro Nashville traffic accidents, online reviews can offer the supporting evidence that defines an outstanding litigator. Because Morgan and Morgan has built a successful record of success spanning more than three decades, we have a considerable number of positive online reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google.

Represents You During the Entire Process

Morgan and Morgan is a large law firm, but we do not act like one. Many law firms assign car accident attorneys to cases, only to have the lawyers delegate legal responsibilities to less experienced members of the legal team. When you hire a car accident lawyer from Morgan and Morgan, you can expect the attorney to provide legal support from the day of the free case evaluation to the day when your case gets resolved.

Schedule a free case evaluation with a Morgan and Morgan attorney who specializes in handling metro Nashville traffic accidents.