Shelby County, Tennessee

Our award-winning and nationally-recognized attorneys have over 100 years of combined experience in helping injury victims in Tennessee including those in Memphis, Arlington, Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, Lakeland, Millington and all of Shelby County.  In fact, for decades, our experienced attorneys have dedicated their legal careers to ensuring injury victims in Shelby County and Tennessee receive the justice and the compensation they deserve.

After a serious accident, the at-fault party's insurance company wants you to go it alone. Without an attorney, most insurance companies hope you will be so overwhelmed by the legal process they will be able to bully or cajole you into accepting less than your case is truly worth. So that you can focus on recovering from your injuries, you need one of our experienced and aggressive injury attorneys fighting for you. 

Types of Cases We Handle In Shelby County

At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., we handle all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases including dog bite cases, drowning and near-drowning accidents, summer camp accidents, construction accidents, towing accidents, farm equipment accidents, golf cart accidents, sexual abuse cases, bicycle accidents, carbon-monoxide poisoning cases,  nursing home abuse and neglect cases, jet ski accidents, liquor liability cases, boating accidents, cases involving defective or unreasonably dangerous products, food poisoning cases, medical malpractice cases including birth injuries, food poisoning cases, cases involving brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord injuries (paraplegia and quadriplegia), eye injuries, burns and almost any other type of injury.

Car Accident Cases in Shelby County

Of course, with Shelby County ranking 2nd in the State in the overall crash rate, we also handle a tremendous number of car accidents, motorcycle wrecks, trucking accidents, pedestrian accidents, bus accidents and uninsured/underinsured motorist cases in Shelby County. According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, Shelby County had the following rankings for the most recent reporting period: 

• Overall crash rate: 2nd
• Fatal crash rate: 57th
  
• Injury crash rate: 2nd
• Motorcycle crash rate: 4th
• Alcohol-impaired fatality rate: 69th
• Alcohol-impaired crash rate: 71st
  
• Speeding crash rate: 64th
• Young driver (ages 15 to 24) crash rate: 2nd
• Senior driver (ages 65+) crash rate: 3rd
  

We Can Help You and Your Family

But regardless of the type of accident that caused your injuries, one thing remains constant: we are here to help you. Because we have helped thousands of satisfied clients, we understand the financial, physical and emotional burdens caused by serious accidents. And, we have one goal: to get you the maximum compensation reasonably possible in the shortest amount of time reasonably possible.  To learn more about how we will handle your case, click here.

Shelby County Judges and Court Information

We understand almost no one wants to go to court.  However, if the at-fault party or the insurance company denies liability or refuses to compensate you fairly, we will not hesitate to file suit to protect your rights. In Shelby County, the following judges hear civil cases in Circuit Court : 

• Yolanda R. Kight
• Carol J. Chumney
• Damita Dandridge
• Gina C. Higgins
• Rhynette Northcross Hurd
• Felicia Corbin Johnson
• Valerie L. Smith
• Mary L. Wagner
• Cedrick D. Wooten

Our experienced attorneys know the ins and outs of Shelby County Circuit Court's Local Rules of Court which govern various topics such as setting cases for trial, subpoenas, pretrial procedure, etc., so we can skillfully guide your case through the litigation process.

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 Shelby County, please click on the link.

Trial and Verdict Information for Memphis and all of Shelby County

In Shelby County, for the 2010-2011 reporting period, there were 1866 tort cases (claims for personal injury or wrongful death.) filed and 79 tort cases were tried.  Of the 79 cases tried, only 42 resulted in a verdict for the injured party and the average award was $81,887.00.

For the 2011-2012 reporting period, 1,768 tort cases were filed with 79 resulting in a trial. Of the 79 cases tried, 50 resulted in a verdict for the injured party.  The average award for 2011-2012 was $808,878.00.

And for 2012-2013, there were 1,747 tort cases filed in Shelby County and 76 tort cases were tried.  Of the 76 tort cases tried, the injured party won 44 of them.  The average award was $247,527.00.

In 2013-2014, 2,210 tort cases were filed in Shelby County and 95 tort cases went to trial.  The injured party won 36 of those trials and the average award was $1,013,825.00.  The average was deeply skewed by a single verdict in the amount of $33,591,900.00.  If that verdict is removed, the average award was just slightly over $83,000.00.

In the 2014-2015 reporting period, 2,031 tort cases were filed in Shelby County with 65 tort cases being tried.  Of those 65 trials, the injury victims won 32 of them or roughly half.  Shelby County had the largest verdict in the State last year at $30,000,000.00 which, of course, skews the numbers.  So if that verdict is removed from the equation, the average award was $68,442.67.

During 2015-2016, there were 2,065 tort cases were filed in Shelby county and 79 of those cases went to trial. Of those 79 trials, 40 of the injury victims won an average of $385,120.For the 2016-2017 reporting period, 2,272 injury and death cases were filed and 71 went to trial.  Of those 71 trials, the injury victim won 52 of them and the average award was $706,484. 

For 2017-2018, there were 2,279 injury and death cases filed and 66 trials.  The average award was $200,791.  Finally, last year, injury and death filings were up slightly to 2,411.  The judges in Shelby County tried 71 trials and the injury victim won 44 of those trials.  The average award last year was an incredible $2,650,439.  While the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts statistics are silent on this issue, this average award is well above the norm and is likely the product of one large award that significantly increased the overall average. The last year referenced for this data is the 2018-2019 reporting period.

Contact Us Today

If you have been injured in Memphis or anywhere else in Shelby County or if you a resident of Shelby County who has been injured elsewhere, contact one of our experienced injury attorneys today. We will provide you with a completely free, no-obligation consultation in which we conduct an in-depth analysis of your case. If your injuries prevent you from coming to our office for the consultation, we will gladly come to you at the hospital or at your home.

We handle all of our accident cases on a contingency basis which means we only get paid if we recover money for you. And, unlike some other lawyers, we advance all case expenses which means you are never out of pocket any money to pursue your rights.  For more detailed information about our fees and case expenses, click here.

Contact us online or call us anytime of day at 615-742-4880 or toll-free at 866-812-8787.