I’m glad that you found my article helpful. I try to provide as much information as possible for victims like your husband and yourself. (Spouses are definitely victims as well whenever there is a major accident such as the one your husband was involved in.)

I am familiar with the event that your husband was riding in, and heard that he was hit at Cooper and Madison during the ride. I understand that he was in the hospital for several weeks due to his injuries, including a broken pelvis. I certainly hope that he is beginning to feel better now.

In your situation it’s definitely going to be best that you use your uninsured motorist coverage on top of any coverage that the driver of the vehicle may have had. (Do you know if the driver had insurance?)

The first reason is because I am assuming that there are considerable medical bills involved with your husband’s treatment. And in many, if not most, cases I work on the liability insurance of the driver who caused the accident is not nearly enough to even cover the medical bills, much less the other damages for pain and suffering. Lots of times if the driver has any insurance at all it’s only the state minimum of $25,000.
In your husband’s situation $25,000 of insurance coverage would not begin to be sufficient. So it’s important that you bring in any underinsured motorist insurance coverage that you may have. I don’t know all of the facts of your husband’s case, but IF there is sufficient insurance coverage it will likely settle before trial easily in the six figure range, if not more.

You also stated you were concerned about using your own insurance and having the rates go up. Luckily for you this isn’t something that will happen. Tennessee law, in T.C.A. Sec. 56-7-1201 (f), states that your insurer cannot raise your rates based solely on the paying of underinsured/unsinsured motorist claims.

There may also be several different avenues that you can pursue in order to recover more for your husband’s injuries. The possibilities include the city and insurance that the organizers of the event may have had. Although it would probably be difficult to impossible to recover anything against the city there is probably a good chance for the potential to recover against the ride event’s insurance.

Mrs. Oglesby, your husband’s case is potentially a very big claim. I would suggest that you speak with an attorney that handles these types of cases and that you trust. With this type of case I believe that you would be able to recover much more with the help of a lawyer, even when you take into account the contingency fee of the lawyer. But be very careful of any lawyers who may be trying to solicit your business or contacting you without your permission. It might be the case that the type of attorneys that those type of unethical actions are simply interested in getting as much as they can for them, and not for you and your husband.

In regards to what you can do to make sure the driver of the vehicle that hit your husband get’s the stiffest penalty possible, if I was your attorney I’d contact the District Attorney that is handling this case and make sure that they are aware of your feelings. You want to make sure that they know you want this person prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. I would also tell them that you would like to testify if there is a trial. If you aren’t involved in this case then it’s very possible that they will be let go with just a minor slap on the wrist.

If you would like more information from me please feel free to contact me at 901-754-1340 or email me at James@LawFerrell.com. Emailing me is often the quickest way to get a response and I would be happy to set up a time to speak with you either in-person or over the phone. Doing this would allow me to answer any other questions that you may have. And if you are looking for a lawyer to represent you (which you really, really do need) and I don’t think I’m the right person to help you with this case then I’ll refer you to the person that I believe can.

Sincerely,

Jami Ferrell
901-754-1340
James@LawFerrell.com

I love your article very helpful.