$193,000 settlement for traumatic brain injuries from fall on sidewalk

April 3, 2026

In 2021, our Nashville personal injury firm reached a $193,000 slip and fall settlement for traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) from a fall caused by a dangerous and uneven sidewalk. This was an unusually complex premises liability case, also known as a “slip and fall” case. Because the defendant was a local government, the suit was governed by the Governmental Tort Liability Act. That meant we had to prove that the City had notice of the defect in the sidewalk. 

Experts can increase value of slip and fall settlements

One way to establish such notice is to prove that the City created the dangerous condition. In this case, we retained a forensic arborist expert, who opined that the City had negligently planted and maintained a nearby tree, which had caused the sidewalk to become uneven when the tree’s roots pushed the sidewalk up from the ground.

If you or a loved one has sustained injuries from a dangerous sidewalk or other condition, contact the premises liability lawyers at DRS Law today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Warren County TN Wrongful Death  David Randolph Smith

October 19, 2026
On 10/20/10 the Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated a jury verdict obtained by David Randolph Smith & Associates for the widow of a Tennessee Army National Guard sergeant who died in 2000. The jury had awarded $7.2 million in the Tennessee wrongful death lawsuit against River Park Hospital of McMinnville. The Tennessee Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the verdict resulted in a total award, with interest, of $10.7 million. Warren County court officials said the multimillion-dollar judgment was the largest amount awarded by a jury in county history at the time of its award.A copy of the opinion is available here.
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Group B Strep Wrongful Death Settlement

October 19, 2026
Settlement in significant wrongful death case filed in Overton County, Tennessee in a mediation held in Nashville, Tennessee on July 25, 2005. The case involved the failure to treat and diagnose group b strep in a pregnant mother whose child was brain damaged and ultimately died from sepsis stemming from exposure to the group b strep during labor. The terms of the settlement are confidential.The firm is currently handling another group b strep medical malpractice case in state court in Tupelo, Mississippi.