Archive for December, 2009

Construction zones cause thousands of auto accidents and personal injuries every year and they cause their share of auto accidents and personal injuries in Tennessee as well. Nationally there are over 11,000 people injured in auto accidents that occur in construction zones and more than 800 deaths (click here for data from Federal Highway Administration).

There are regulations for “traffic control” in construction zones, the so called Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and those rules apply to construction zones in Nashville or anywhere else in Tennessee. Unfortunately, the rules are too often not followed or enforced and when that happens people inevitably are in serious car wrecks with personal injuries. Knowing the rules exist is the first step for a lawyer handling construction zone accidents.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Car accident victims and people injured on the job sometime have the misfortune to experience a shoulder injury often to the rotator cuff. The rotator cuff is in the shoulder, and rotator cuff injuries often begin with minor symptoms that get worse over time. If you have a “weak” shoulder, a rotator cuff injury may be the explanation. Although we all want to put off surgery until it is absolutely necessary, putting off rotator cuff surgery may not be the best idea. In fact, repair of smaller tears yields better long term results that waiting for a big tear (click here.) So if you have been involved in a car accident or have a work injury to your shoulder, ask your surgeon whether you might benefit from surgery now rather than waiting.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury or Workers comp injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

GM employees, and other workers who have lost their jobs may have a right to reopen their Tennessee workers compensation cases and obtain more benefits.  If  injured before July 1, 2004 and you lose your  job within 400 weeks of the day that you returned to work, you may apply to enlarge your workers’ compensation award to a maximum of 6 times your impairment rating.  The additional amount that you may be entitled to is dictated by your vocational disability, age, education, job skills, etc.  For those injured after July 1, 2004, different rules may apply.  If you have resigned, the Court may increase your award only if your resignation was reasonably related to the injury. 
Employees of GM may be entitled to a reconsideration of their claim because of the way that GM has been restructured since filing bankruptcy. GM employees with former work comp claims should contact  our office immediately to determine if you have a right to reconsideration.  Failure to do so could prejudice your rights.
If you are fired for misconduct or you retire, you are generally not eligible for reconsideration.   
It is important to note that a petition for reconsideration must be made within one year of the date that you lose your job or you will be barred from pursing a claim for reconsideration.

If you have lost your job after receiving a prior work comp settlement, call us to speak to a Tennessee Workers Compensation Attorney to determine if you are entitled to any additional benefits.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

Tennessee motorcycle wreck

Motorcycle accidents in Tennessee and elsewhere often require hiring a Tennessee motorcycle attorney because there are often serious injuries to the rider, but if there is a fire –  It’s going to be ugly, disabling, mutilating, and perhaps fatal. Obviously the source of fire is from gas, and the most exposed gas tanks in any car accident /motorcycle accident will be the gas tank on the motorcycle.

It makes sense that gas tank that is not secured will potentially rupture during impact, and that a manufacturer would think about that, design for it, and do their best to protect riders. Unfortunately, Harley-Davidson has just announced a recall of over 100,000 bikes manufactured from June 2008 thru November 2009 (click here).

How was the problem discovered? Not by Harley.  It was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that uncovered the data that brought about this voluntary recall.  The question we should all be asking is “Why didn’t Harley discover this?” and just as important “If they missed something this simple, what else have they missed?”

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered in a motorcycle accident in Tennessee, please contact Nashville personal injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.

In Tennessee, back surgery is common among people who have had some traumatic injury due to an auto accident or on the job injury in Tennessee, and they often need Tennessee personal injury attorneys to help them get what they are entitled to receive. In our practice we have represented hundreds of people who sustained Tennessee workers compensation back injuries or in Tennessee car accidents.

While many times people recover over time without surgery, many others have symptoms that can only be resolved with surgery. Usually a few weeks after surgery physical therapy is ordered to help people get their strength and flexibility back.

Now there is some research that indicates that rehabilitation after surgery really doesn’t make any difference.  A Finnish study published in Orthopedics Today Europe reports that in a recent study of 102 back surgery patients, there was no difference between patients who did or did not have rehab after surgery. My guess? Doctors will continue to order physical therapy and rehab after back surgery, and most people will want it. Even if it doesn’t make any real difference 2 years down the road, it’s helpful for people to get their confidence back, and that’s something rehab can do for anyone.

If you or anyone you know has been killed or suffered a personal injury or workers’ compensation injury in Tennessee, please contact Nashville injury attorney Phillip Miller and the Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Phillip Miller and Associates at (615) 356-2000, or contact our office online here.

One last thing: If you are hurt and have any questions at all, contact our office at (615) 356-2000. Don’t delay. Cases involving personal injury or death in Tennessee must be acted on quickly. Time is running. Call for an appointment, if it’s bad enough that you need to read this far into a website blog, it’s bad enough to get an attorney involved.