DeKalb County, Tennessee

DeKalb County, Smithville, TN Injury Attorneys
For decades, our nationally-recognized and award-winning lawyers have been the champion of injured people in Smithville, Alexandria, Liberty Dowelltown and the rest of DeKalb County. While other lawyers maintain a diverse practice of bankruptcies, DUIs, wills and trusts, criminal matters, etc., we limit our practice to civil litigation with a concentration on tort cases so that we can focus our energies on helping injury victims and their families.

What is a tort case? It is a claim for personal injury or wrongful death caused by someone's negligence. Examples of tort cases are bicycle accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning cases, food poisoning cases, golf cart accidents, liquor liability or dramshop cases,  boating accidents, jet ski accidents, tractor-trailer crashes, dog bite cases, drowning accidents, construction accidents, farming equipment accidents, sexual abuse cases, spinal cord injury cases, birth injuries, medical malpractice cases, injuries caused by defective products, pedestrian accidents and cases involving brain injuries, eye injuries and burn injuries and many others.

Car Accident Cases in DeKalb County

Not surprisingly, our office also handles a significant number of car wrecks, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents and tractor-trailer accidents. Unfortunately, with 4.5 million licensed drivers in the State of Tennessee and thousands of miles of roadway, there are a lot of crashes which cause serious injuries or deaths.

From 2015-2019, which is the most recent data, DeKalb County ranked 61st in the overall crash rate. For young drivers (ages 15 to 24), DeKalb County had a crash rate of 69th and, for senior drivers (ages 65+), the crash rate was 76th. The county ranked 38th in fatal crashes and 20th in injury crashes. For motorcycle crashes, DeKalb county had a ranking of 6th. Alcohol-impaired fatalities were ranked at 42nd and alcohol-impaired crashes ranked 65th. The speeding crash rate was 46th.

Let Us Help You

Carelessness, driving under the influence, texting while driving, speeding, fatigue -- all of these things can cause serious injuries or death. If you have been injured due to someone's negligence, you are generally entitled to recover for your pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, permanent impairments (if any), scarring (if any), loss of enjoyment of life and other possible damages.

In order to recover these damages, a claim must be made against the at-fault party. If the at-fault party has insurance, proof of your losses is submitted to the insurance company. If the at-fault party does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance, you may be able to make an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim against your own insurance company to recover money from your own insurance carrier, but this will depend upon the language of your insurance policy (We are happy to review your policy and help you make that determination). If the at-fault party was on the job at the time of the accident, a claim may be possible against the employer. If the other driver was served too much alcohol at a bar or restaurant before the accident, it may be possible to file a liquor liability claim against the bar or restaurant. As you can see, from any single accident, there may be multiple claims.

Our Experienced Team Knows How To Win

In many cases, there is more than one at-fault party and there may also be several theories of recovery. Each one needs to be investigated and analyzed fully by our experienced team. By letting us do the work, you can be confident that all at-fault parties are being pursued for complete compensation and you can focus on recovering from your injuries. Here are just a few reasons why you should hire us:

• We know the law. John Day literally wrote the books on Tennessee injury and trial law. These books are routinely cited in court opinions and relied upon by other lawyers.


• We know the medical issues. Our focus is injury cases so we have seen thousands of injuries and are well-versed in the medicine. In addition, we have a full-time nurse on staff to assist with medical issues.


• We know how to get results.  With 100 years of combined experience, our award-winning lawyers have recovered millions of dollars for our satisfied clients.

Will I Have To Go To Court?

Of course, we will try to settle your case without the necessity of filing suit. But sometimes, the at-fault party denies any wrongdoing or denies the severity of your injuries. When that happens, it usually becomes necessary for us to file a lawsuit on your behalf. But, even if we have to initiate litigation, most cases will resolve short of trial. For more information on what to expect from the litigation process, click here.

DeKalb County Judges and Court Information

DeKalb County is in the 13th Judicial District, and the following individuals preside over civil cases in Circuit Court:

• Caroline E. Knight


• William T. Ridley

The 13th Judicial District has established Local Rules for its courts. These rules govern issues such as issuing subpoenas, setting a case for trial, etc. A copy of the Local Rules for Circuit Court can be found here.

During the 2011-2012 reporting period, only 12 tort cases (claims for injury or death) were filed in DeKalb County and none of those cases went to trial. For 2012-2013, there were 19 tort cases filed in DeKalb County, but again no tort cases went to trial. For 2013-2014, 26 tort cases were filed in DeKalb County but yet again none went to trial. In 2014-2015, 19 tort cases were filed and none were tried.  In 2015-2016, 19 tort cases were filed, and for the 6th straight year, none were tried.  In 2016-2017, 20 tort cases were filed and there was one non-jury trial.  The injury victim lost that trial.  For 2017-2018, 20 cases were again filed and there was one trial by jury.  The injury victim lost again.  For 2018-2019, 18 tort cases were filed and none went to trial. The last year referenced for this data is the 2018-2019 reporting period.

John Day has created a new website (BirdDog Law) to give citizens, judges, and lawyers important information about the court system of every county in Tennessee, including updated trial statistics in each of the 95 counties. For more recent information and an understanding of the trends in jury and nonjury personal injury and wrongful death cases in DeKalb County, please click on the link.

Contact Us Today

If you have been injured in DeKalb County or you are a resident of DeKalb County who has been injured somewhere else, you need our award-winning attorneys on your side to hold all at-fault parties responsible and help you get the maximum recovery reasonably possible.   We only get paid if we win and we advance all case expenses.  For more information on what we pay for and how we get paid, click here.

Because the law only allows a limited time to seek compensation, contact us today at one of our three convenient Middle Tennessee locations for a free initial consultation.

Nashville: 615-669-3993

Murfreesboro: 615-867-9900

Brentwood: 615-742-4880

Toll-Free: 866-812-8787

Or, if you prefer, you can contact us online.  We have recovered millions of dollars for our satisfied clients and we would be honored to help you too.