When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
Tennessee law requires owners to keep their dogs under reasonable control at all times, and to keep their dogs from running at large. “Running at large” means going uncontrolled onto another person’s property, or onto a road, street, or public place. A person who breaches this duty is strictly liable for injuries caused to another person by the dog. The owner is responsible, even if the owner was not negligent, and even if the owner had no notice of the dog’s dangerous traits. There are five exceptions: • When the injured person was trespassing on private property; • When the injured person was
Personal Injury Settlements and Paying the Piper
According to ancient legend, the mayor of Hamelin, Germany once hired a piper to rid the town of rats. The rats followed the piper into a nearby river, where they drowned. But the mayor reneged on his agreement to pay. The furious piper led the town’s children into the mountains, where they disappeared into a cave and were never seen again. Much like the citizens of Hamelin, injured persons often find themselves at the mercy of unpaid creditors. Medical costs are the responsibility of the party that caused the injury. Hospitals have a statutory lien against any recovery. So do Medicare
It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt
“Everyone has a duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in light of the surrounding circumstances,” including a group of friends engaging in an athletic activity. White v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson Cnty., 860 S.W.2d 49, 51 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1993). The Tennessee Court of Appeals released a recent opinion remanding a case back to the trial court because the trial court ruled that a cyclist assumed the risk of paceline riding “where it is certainly foreseeable that an accident could occur. . . .” Crisp v. Nelms, No. E2017-01044-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). In Crisp, five cyclists were