Rhea County, Tennessee

Rhea County, Dayton, TN Injury AttorneysFor more than four decades, injury victims in Dayton, Spring City, Graysville and all of Rhea County have relied upon our award-winning and nationally-recognized team to help them get compensation for their losses because of our reputation for success. We have represented injury victims in all types of cases including medical malpractice cases, injuries caused by defective or unreasonably dangerous products, dog bite cases, sexual abuse cases, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, farm equipment accidents, boating accidents, serious burn cases, eye injury cases, brain injury cases, jet ski accidents, towing accidents, food poisoning accidents, construction accidents, golf cart accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect cases, drowning and near-drowning accidents, carbon-monoxide poisoning cases, liquor liability cases, cases involving burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, orthopedic injuries, eye injuries and many more.

Because our focus is on civil litigation and injury victims, we do not handle real estate closings, tax cases, divorces, bankruptcies, criminal cases, will and trusts child custody cases or corporate matters. Instead, if you need help in those areas, we will gladly refer you to an excellent lawyer in that particular field. But, if you have a civil litigation or injury case of any type, we would like to help you just like we have helped thousands of others.

Car Crashes in Rhea County

Of course, a large part of our practice is motor vehicle accidents including a significant number of tractor-trailer crashes, automobile accidents and bus accidents. We also handle motorcycle accidents and accidents involving vehicles and bicycles or pedestrians.

Regrettably, serious accidents can be caused by bad weather such as snow and ice or wild-life such as deer. But some of the most common reasons for motor vehicle accidents include:

• Distracted driving like texting while driving, eating while driving, etc.
• Speeding
• Drunk driving
• Running red lights or stop signs
• Improper lane changes
• Tailgating
• Road rage
• Street racing
• Auto or tire defects

The Tennessee Department of Safety collects data on some of these categories of dangerous driving. From 2015 to 2019, Rhea County had the following statistics:

• Overall Crash Rate: 69th
  
• Fatal Crash Rate: 63rd
  
• Injury Crash Rate: 78th
• Motorcycle Crash Rate: 90th
• Alcohol-Impaired Fatality Rate: 76th
  
• Alcohol-Impaired Crash Rate: 80th
• Speeding Crash Rate: 82nd
• Young Driver (Ages 15-24) Crash Rate: 68th
• Senior Driver (Ages 65+) Crash Rate: 59th

We Can Help You And Your Family

If you have been injured in an accident, let us help you get the compensation you deserve from all responsible parties. In a significant number of cases, there can be multiple theories of recovery and several at-fault parties.

For example, in a car wreck, the most obvious at-fault party is the other driver. But, did you know that you might also be able to pursue these claims:

• A claim against your own insurance company for uninsured or underinsured motorist benefits (depending upon the language of your insurance policy).
• A claim against the other driver's employer, if the other driver was on the job at the time of the wreck.
• A product liability claim against the manufacturer of your vehicle if the vehicle did not perform as designed during the accident -- for example, the seat back broke or the airbags did not deploy and the failures caused or exacerbated your injuries.
• A claim against the owner of the other vehicle (if different from the driver) for possible negligent entrustment of the vehicle to an unfit driver.
• A dram shop claim against the restaurant or bar, if the other driver was served too much alcohol before the accident.
• A claim against the State or contractor for road conditions or construction area conditions.

Will I Have To Go To Court?

We try to settle all our cases, but that is not always possible. Sometimes, the responsible party or the insurance company denies responsibility or they claim your injuries are not serious.  When that happens, we will not hesitate to file suit to protect your rights and ensure you get the compensation you and your family deserve.  Of course, our clients are usually anxious about the process so we have a detailed overview of what to expect during litigation.

Judges in Rhea County and Court Information

If suit must be filed to protect your rights, Rhea County is located in the 12th Judicial District which also includes Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Marion and Sequatchie counties. The judges who preside over civil cases in the 12th Judicial District are:

• John Cameron
• Justin C. Angel
  
• Bradley Sherman

The 12th Judicial District has published Local Rules which govern the day to day procedures of the Court including such things as setting cases for trial, exhibits, dispositive motions, etc. The Local Rules can be reviewed here on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

For the 2011-2012 reporting period, there were 32 tort cases (claims for personal injury or wrongful death) were filed in Rhea county. Only three of those cases went to trial. And unfortunately, none of those trials resulted in the injured party winning any compensation. In 2012-2013, 32 tort cases were filed in Rhea County and 2 tort cases were tried. The injured party did not win either case. In 2013-2014, 28 tort cases were filed but none went to trial. Last year, 34 tort cases were filed in Rhea County and only one was tried. The injury victim lost that trial. In 2015-2016, 30 cases were filed, 2 went to trial, but the victims received no compensation for the case.  During 2016-2017, 31 injury or death cases were filed but none were tried.  In 2017-2018, 20 injury or death cases were filed and one was tried.  The injury victim lost that case.  Finally, in 2018-2019, 23 tort cases were filed and one was tried.  Again, the injury victim lost. 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 Rhea County, please click on the link.

Why You Should Hire Us

These statistics illustrate just how crucial it is to have the right lawyer representing you in your injury or death case in Rhea County.  Since 1993, Best Lawyers has ranked John Day as one of the country's best lawyers. Business Tennessee has consistently named John Day as one of the best attorneys in the State. U.S. News and World Report has ranked The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. as one of the nation's Best Law Firms. Our lawyers have also been recognized by other lawyers -- earning Martindale-Hubbel AV Preeminent ratings and Super Lawyers awards. And, we have recovered millions of dollars for our satisfied clients.  

We only get paid if we win and we advance all case expenses, so it will not cost you a dime to pursue the compensation you and your family deserve. For more detailed information about our fees and case expenses, click here.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in Rhea County or you are a Rhea County resident who has been injured elsewhere, contact one of our award-winning attorneys today toll-free at 866-812-8787 or online.   If you are unable to come to us, we will gladly come to you. 

Murfreesboro: 615-867-9900

Nashville: 615-669-3993

Brentwood: 615-742-4880