Personal Injury

The Dennis and King Difference

You won’t find other personal injury attorneys like us in Chattanooga. At Dennis and King, most of our cases settle within four months, possibly making us the fastest in the area without sacrificing value.

As our client, you control your case. We aim to help you make informed legal decisions about your case. To do this, we advise you on all the factors that impact your unique situation and give examples of jury verdicts from similar cases. But in the end, you decide whether to take a settlement or go to trial. If you want to tell your story, we will help you tell it.

Our intake process for new personal injury clients in a nutshell:

1. One of our legal assistants takes your call and listens to your story. He/she then relates your problem to one of our lawyers, who determines whether you have a case.
2. If you have a case, we schedule an initial interview within 12 to 24 hours of your call.
3. The initial interview usually lasts about 60 to 90 minutes. One of our Chattanooga lawyers will explain:

• why it’s crucial to get consistent medical treatment and physical therapy for your injury;
• why you do not want to use Tennessee medical payment car insurance if you have it;
• why you do want to use health insurance if you have it;
• the importance of staying closely in touch with us;
• how the settlement and settlement memo processes work; and
• how quickly you can expect to receive payment.

4. Within 24 hours, we send a notice letter to the involved insurance companies. If they have not started reviewing the claim, we demand that they do so.
5. We’ll be in touch at least four times in the first two weeks of our relationship. We want to make sure that your claim is going well, and follow up on your medical treatment progress.

Types of Damages You May Be Able To Recover

In a personal injury case, the word damages refers to losses suffered by the injury victim. These losses can be financial and easy to value, such as the cost of vehicle repair, or they can be intangible and challenging to calculate, such as emotional trauma. Generally speaking, damages are classified as economic or non-economic.

Economic Damages

If it’s easy to place a dollar value on the loss suffered in a personal injury accident, that loss is likely to be considered economic. For example, if the auto body shop quotes you $5,000 to return your vehicle to its pre-accident state, that $5,000 is an economic damage. The most common economic damages arising from personal injury claims and lawsuits include:

• Medical bills, current and future
• Vehicle repair bills
• Other types of property damage
• Lost wages, current and future

Non-economic Damages

Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are usually harder to prove but can have an even more devastating impact on the victim’s life. Emotional trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is an example of a non-economic damage. PTSD may negatively impact the victim’s ability to hold a job or even maintain healthy relationships for the rest of their life. But calculating the value of such a damage can be quite difficult. Common examples of non-economic damages include:

• Emotional pain and suffering
• Loss of compassion
• Loss of consortium
• Disability or disfigurement

At Dennis and King, our team of highly-skilled personal injury lawyers will thoroughly evaluate your case, determine fault, gather evidence, calculate damages, and negotiate for the maximum compensation available. We will ensure that your rights and best interests are protected throughout the entire process.

Why Hire A Chattanooga Personal Injury Attorney?

Although it is not required by law to have legal representation in a personal injury case, it is generally wise to do so. Unless your losses were extremely minimal and will be easily covered with a small insurance check, consulting with an injury attorney is always a good idea. Most offer free initial strategy sessions, so even if you don’t end up hiring an attorney, the strategy session can prove beneficial and informative.

That being said, there are several instances in which you absolutely want to have legal counsel. If you’ve incurred significant medical bills and lost wages, due to your inability to work, it is critical to work with an injury lawyer. Hospitalization, surgeries, medications, doctor visits, and rehabilitation can add up to tens-of-thousands, and even hundreds-of-thousands of dollars. Big expenses like this are most common in serious auto accidents. If, in addition to all the medical bills you are unable to work for an extended period of time, the losses can be catastrophic.

Furthermore, if there is a dispute over who was at fault or the insurance company is refusing to pay, it is in your best interest to obtain legal representation. Insurers are notorious for doing everything possible to avoid paying claims, or to pay as little as possible. Having an attorney by your side who understands how the insurance companies think and knows the amount of compensation you deserve can make all the difference in the world.

Hiring a Chattanooga personal injury attorney from Dennis and King means you will have a top-flight Chattanooga personal injury lawyer in your corner who understands all of your rights under Tennessee or Georgia law.