Knoxville Auto Accident Attorney
From 2016 through 2020, Knox County averaged 13,817 traffic crashes annually, accounting for 62 deaths and 2,834 injuries. These statistics ranked Knox County as the tenth worst county in Tennessee for traffic injuries and deaths. The saddest comment of all on these statistics is that the vast majority of these injuries and deaths could have been avoided had negligent drivers chosen to drive with better caution, care and respect for their fellow drivers.
Traffic accidents are needless tragedies that leave accident victims and their families saddled with costly medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and sometimes long-term or permanent disability. Justice requires that negligent drivers be held accountable for the damage they caused by speeding, drinking and driving, texting while driving, or other careless or reckless behavior.
At Atkins Brezina, PLLC, we take on negligent drivers, trucking companies and their insurance carriers and fight to get a significant financial recovery for motor vehicle accident victims. Contact Atkins Brezina, PLLC, for help after a car crash, motorcycle collision, truck wreck or any other motor vehicle accident in Knoxville or East Tennessee. With years of experience litigating cases on both sides of an injury claim, our Knoxville auto accident attorneys have the knowledge, insight, skills and experience to get you the medical care you need and the compensation you deserve after getting hurt because of another’s negligent driving.
What if the driver who hit me was uninsured?
Tennessee requires all drivers to carry liability insurance sufficient to cover $25,000 in personal injury to one person or up to $50,000 per accident if multiple people are injured, plus $15,000 in property damage. These are not high limits, and auto insurance in Tennessee is not particularly expensive, yet the Volunteer State ranks third in the nation for having the highest percentage of uninsured drivers. Nearly one out of every four drivers on the road in Tennessee is uninsured.
If you get hit by an uninsured driver, you can turn to your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage for help. Insurance companies in Tennessee are required to offer UM coverage in the same amount as the liability you purchase. In fact, this coverage is automatically included in your policy unless you declined it in writing or chose lower limits of UM coverage. Hopefully, you carry UM insurance in the same amount as your liability coverage. The additional cost is not a great expense, and you will be glad you have it if you run into one of Tennessee’s thousands of uninsured motorists (or, more accurately, if they run into you). UM coverage can also be used if you get hurt in a crash with a hit-and-run driver or if you are hit by a driver with minimal insurance that doesn’t meet your needs (this coverage is called Underinsured Motorist or UIM and is included with your UM policy).
If you wind up needing to make a UM or UIM claim, don’t make the mistake of trying to do it on your own. It doesn’t matter that this is “your” insurance company and not the negligent driver’s. They still spend every day “adjusting” claims and finding ways to pay as little as they can get away with, whether on a first-party or third-party claim. It is well-known that people who don’t have an attorney representing them get far less from the insurance company than people who have a skilled, experienced and knowledgeable lawyer working for them. Call Atkins Brezina, PLLC today!
Does Atkins Brezina, PLLC, handle East Tennessee boating accidents?
Yes! Atkins Brezina, PLLC, is experienced in handling all manner of boating, watercraft and Jet Ski accidents in Knoxville and East Tennessee. Recreational boating is a wildly popular pastime in East Tennessee, but some boaters fail to appreciate the risks involved. Despite being in control of a motor vehicle as powerful as some cars and operating in a highly trafficked area, some boaters speed, are impaired while boating, or engage in aggressive and reckless behaviors such as wake-crossing or boating dangerously close to swimmers, canoers and kayakers.
Although drinking and boating is prohibited, boating in general is much less regulated than driving on the streets. Persons as young as 12 can operate a motorboat on their own in Tennessee, and state law doesn’t impose any minimum age on an operator so long as an adult is on board who can “take immediate control of the vessel.” Boaters don’t have to pass a driving test to show knowledge or proficiency in driving a boat. The only requirement is a boating safety exam for persons born in 1989 or later.
If you were injured on Fort Loudoun Lake, Norris Lake, Cherokee Lake, Tellico Lake, the Tennessee River or any of the more than a dozen other lakes and rivers in East Tennessee, call Atkins Brezina, PLLC, for assistance.
Help With Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries in Knoxville or East Tennessee
If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident in Knoxville or East Tennessee, call Atkins Brezina, PLLC, at 865-500-3121 today for a free consultation on your potential claims. We don’t charge any fee unless and until we are successful in recovering compensation for you.
