Drivers share the roads in Tennessee with operators of various vehicles, including motorcyclists and truckers. No one can control anyone’s actions, except for his or her own, so there’s always a risk of an auto accident because of a drunk driver out on the road. Unfortunately, sometimes auto accidents are deadly, and a recent example of deadly auto accidents is the case of Tennessee trucker Randall Weddle. What are the basic facts of the Weddle case? [...]
Auto accidents occur virtually every day, and a large number of Tennessee drivers who are involved in auto accidents, are uninsured or underinsured. The Tennessee state government deems the large number of uninsured drivers unacceptable and way too large; therefore, as of January 1, 2017, a new Tennessee state statute came into effect and imposes tougher penalties on uninsured drivers. The new statute In Tennessee, drivers must now have liability insurance for auto accidents, and that [...]
School buses are an important mode of transportation for children, and they usually provide safe transportation for children. Nevertheless, the fact that school buses are a safe mode of transportation for children is not always the case, as the horrific November 21, 2016 school bus crash in Hamilton County, Tennessee clearly demonstrates. In fact, the crash claimed the lives of 6 children and left many others with injuries. As of December 16, 2016, six lawsuits assert [...]
When you’ve been hurt – in an auto accident, while playing sports, while at work, etc. – you expect that at some point, you’re going to recover from that injury. There are some injuries, though, that you never really recover from: injuries that will affect you and your family for the rest of your life. These are called catastrophic injuries, and they could lead to a lifetime of medical care, the need for adaptive technologies, or [...]
Auto accidents occur every day, due to a variety of causes. Some occur because of driver error; others occur because of vehicle problems associated with defective products. When a faulty or defective auto product leads to an accident, identifying the root of the vehicle problem isn’t always easy. You cannot just say the accident was the vehicle’s “fault.” There are several different auto parts that can be defective. The most common ones include: Faulty brakes Defective [...]
We share the road with other drivers, pedestrians, emergency vehicles and bicyclists all the time. To let others pass is common courtesy. But to specifically let emergency vehicles pass or precede us is legally required, and refusal to do so is considered a violation of the law. In Tennessee, the law governing emergency vehicles on the road (and violation thereof) is called the “Move Over Law.” It was passed in 2006, “and requires motorists to move [...]
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the holiday season is in full swing. It is a time to be with family and friends, to celebrate the joy of the season, to overstuff yourself (again) with delicious food – in short, a time to celebrate. Unfortunately, the holiday season poses some serious hazards on and off the roads. At Banks & Jones, we want you to have a safe and happy holiday. We’ve compiled this list of [...]
Also known as multi-vehicle accidents, multi-car accidents, and pileups, chain-reaction auto accidents are a kind of rear-end auto accidents. They involve three or more vehicles rear-ending each other in a series, or chain, of collisions. Usually, chain-reaction auto accidents happen when the last car in the chain collides with the car before it, forcing that car to collide with the car before it, so on, and so on. Caused of chain-reaction auto accidents So what causes [...]
There is nothing like the call of the open road – especially when you can experience it on your motorcycle. We know a little something about the joys of riding here at Banks and Jones, given that T. Scott Jones races bikes at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. We want all riders to be safe and sound on the roads, so we have some safety tips for motorcycle riders that we’d like to share: [...]
Autumn is a perfect time of year; the leaves change colors, the smell of apple cider begins to fill the air, and the cooler weather finally starts to come in. But like any season, fall presents some dangers to drivers that don’t necessarily occur during other times of the year. You could be at risk of serious injury because of: School traffic, including buses, newly licensed teen drivers, and small children darting out in the roads [...]
Whether you chose to watch Monday night’s debate, or simply looked on the internet for anything the next day, you know that the controversial practice of “stop and frisk” made its way back into the public’s eyes this week. In particular, the candidates debated whether or not the practice was legal in their own home state of New York (it’s not; a judge ruled it unconstitutional in New York), and whether or not it’s effective or [...]
Often, when people talk about auto accidents, they usually talk about the injuries sustained by drivers and passengers. But the people inside the cars and trucks are not the only ones who get injured in auto accidents. Pedestrians get injured too, and pedestrian injuries are just as prevalent as driver and passenger injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has compiled some statistics on this matter. According to its latest data in 2013, more than [...]
Broadside, side impact, “T” bones – whatever you call them, these types of collisions are dangerous, and can leave you with serious injuries. T-bone collisions are auto accidents involving the side of a vehicle hitting the back or front of another vehicle, thus creating the “T.” Accounting for factors such as the impacted vehicle portion(s), safety measures, vehicle speed, and vehicle weight, the vehicle damage and accident victims’ injuries often are more serious than the damage [...]
Regardless of whether it is for work or play, we often spend several hours glued to our electronics – our computers, our televisions, our cell phones, etc. Fortunately, there are ways for us to wisely utilize our time while glued to our electronics, and one such way is to play Pokémon Go, a free mobile augmented reality game in which we journey to real-life places in order to catch and train Pokémon creatures. Playing Pokémon Go [...]
The heat is on. School is out. The nights are shorter, and the days are longer. It is time to hit the road and live the summer life. For some of us, that means vacations and visits to faraway places (or at least to a nearby lake). We tend to think of winter as a season full of roadside dangers, and it is. But summer also is a season full of roadside dangers, and we [...]
All of us at Banks & Jones would like to offer a giant “Congratulations!” to T. Scott Jones, who was just honored for his exemplary work by Best DWI Attorney. Anyone who knows T. Scott also knows what a powerhouse he is in the courtroom, and that his aggressive approach to DUI/DWI defense has helped him protect his clients’ rights in courtrooms all over Tennessee. So while we’re not at all surprised that he’d be honored [...]
When you are facing serious charges, you need serious defense. Jeffrey Sweeney, former co-owner of the Casual Pint, was facing a misdemeanor charge of patronizing prostitution – until he hired T. Scott Jones, that is. You can check out the Knoxville News Sentinel’s coverage of how T. Scott Jones successfully represented Sweeney and had that charge dropped by clicking this link.
“I think it’s pretty safe to say that you have a legitimate argument for not paying the ticket,” says T. Scott Jones, partner at Banks & Jones in Knoxville. Check out the rest of T. Scott’s interview on Local 8 Now by clicking this link.
Motorcycles are fun to ride, and the one of the best places to ride is the “Dragon’s Tail.” The Dragon’s Tail is a curvy road that resembles a dragon’s tail and snakes across eastern Tennessee and North Carolina through the Smoky Mountains. Nevertheless, like other riding routes, the Dragon’s Tail is extremely dangerous, especially for beginner and absent-minded motorcyclists. Therefore, motorcyclists should take steps to ensure their and everyone else’s safety before taking on the Dragon [...]
We are constantly on the go here in Knoxville. We rely on our cars, our primary mode of transportation, for everything; to go to school, to work, etc. Now, a new type of car, a car capable of driving itself, is in development, and the Tennessee State Senate has passed a bill that sets guidelines and regulations for self-driving cars, or autonomous vehicles. What are AVs? Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are vehicles that operate themselves in one [...]
We Tennesseans are constantly on the go. Our cars and trucks are our primary mode of transportation, which means we have to deal with other drivers. We cannot always be safe on the road because we cannot control the actions of others. One common type of auto accident is a rear-end crash or collision. The most persistent kind of automobile accident, rear-end crashes involve one vehicle’s front bumper hitting another vehicle’s rear bumper. We also call [...]
There are few things more controversial than child safety. Everyone agrees that protecting our kids is a top priority, but we have a harder time agreeing on just how to do that. The recently recalled car seat bill is just another example of difficult it is. The bill, which had been passed by the Senate and the House, “would change the rules to require kids under two to use rear-facing seats; children under age five must [...]
Its technical title is HB 1416/SB 1608, but the charmingly named “Slow Poke Law” is looking to change the way we drive here in Tennessee. Legislators are looking to help ease congestion while making our interstates a little safer to drive on, and they’re using a plan that’s worked in other states to do it. The “Slow Poke Law” is essentially this: if you’re driving on a roadway with three or more lanes, you’d better stay [...]
Banks & Jones is thrilled to announce that firm founder, T. Scott Jones, has just been named one to the Million Dollar Advocates and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums! This prestigious forum is made up of trial attorneys throughout the country who have won jury verdicts or settlements for at least $2 million. There are currently about 4000 members of the Forums, which means fewer than 1% of all trial attorneys in America are part of the [...]
We are a mobile people; we are constantly on the go. Therefore, we rely on our cars to take us places and to see faces. But we cannot always rely on the roads we drive on, and some roads are safer than others. The federal government has compiled a list of the top ten states whose roads are the most dangerous nationwide. Our great state of Tennessee ranks number ten on this list. Ranking number ten [...]
