Legal Question in Personal Injury in Tennessee

Re: Assault

Not to disagree with anything attorney William Poland posted, but this is to add two important points to what he wrote.

First you also have a one year statute of limitations for SUING the person responsible for the assault -- meaning you have to file suit within one year or you will not be allowed to get a judgement or collent anything.

Second, there is one way around the requirement that there was something given in exchange for the promise of payment, that is if you can show that you reasonably relied on the promise to pay and that you suffered some harm or detriment as a result of your reliance on the promise.

Also, if may be that the thing given for the promise from the mother was an agreement not to sue, in which case there clearly is an enforceable promise.

Re: Assault

Tennessee law allows victims of certain crimes to receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and some other things. I would need to know if the assailant was convicted (or plead quilty) to a crime and what the crime was. This recovery is allowed under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act. This claim must be filed with the State within one year of the commission of the crime......As far as the promise made by the mother of the assailant, "naked" promises are not enforceable....there must be some "consideration" given for the promise. In other words, the mother must have been given something in return for her promise. The "thing" given does not have to be an object or anything of great value.....it could have been an agreement (or a return promise) that charges be reduced or something that would have been a benefit to the assailant's mother.