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2014-15 Tennessee Tort Filings and Damage Awards Data

Here are some of the most recent statistics concerning tort claims and trials in the Tennessee court system for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015:

  1. There were 9777 tort filings in state court, with 9695 tort cases concluded.  Only 339 of those cases were tried to a judge or jury.
  2. There were 356 health care liability actions filed, with 346 such cases concluded. Only 28 of those cases were tried.
  3. Only 3.7% of all tort and health care liability dispositions were resolved by a trial.
  4. There were only 183 jury trials in torts cases.
  5. Of the 367 total trials, only 116 resulted in an award of damages.  Total damages awarded was just under $47,000,000.
  6. There were 7 damage awards of $1,000,000 or more in the entire state.
  7. There were 14 damage awards between $100,000 and $1,000,000.
  8. There were 99 damages awards under $99,999.  (Think about the average award in those cases, and consider how many of these can be considered “wins” by the plaintiff.)
  9. The largest award of the year was a $30,000,000 verdict in Shelby County.
  10. In the past seven years, the number of cases being disposed of by trial has decreased by almost 40%, from 608 to 357.
  11. There were 42 jury trials and 11 non-jury trials in Davidson County, 26 of which resulted in an award of damages.
  12. Shelby County had 30 jury trials and 35 non-jury trials.  Damages were awarded in 32 of those cases.

More thoughts on this data in the coming days.

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