Faculty Profile: Rocky McElhaney II

“It's about how hard you can get hit, how much you can take and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa

Rocky learned many of the life lessons he now uses to help his clients while growing up near Buffalo Trail in Morristown Tennessee, a small town about 35 miles east of Knoxville. At Central Point Baptist Church, he was taught the proper order of core values by his grandmother – faith, family, friends, and then finances. Rocky’s dad worked as a millwright. His mom was an aide for Head Start. The family lived paycheck to paycheck. Rocky watched his parents work hard for what little they had. They overcame obstacles and made ends meet. By their example, Rocky learned that if you work hard, you can make it.

On August 5, 1988, when Rocky was 15, his dad, Larry McElhaney, injured his low back at work. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, but the insurance company would not pay or provide timely medical treatment. Larry had no choice but to return to work and struggle through the pain. It took three years for Rocky’s dad to get the surgery he needed. Rocky saw the stress on his dad’s face grow as he dealt with the physical pain of his injury, along with financial strain as the bills piled up. The family was eventually evicted from their home and forced to move. For over three years, Rocky’s father experienced textbook-case stall tactics and red tape of an insurance company who’d wrongfully refused to give him the benefits he’d earned. He was worn down.

Larry eventually hired a lawyer. The insurance company still refused to accept responsibility. In fact, in court papers, the insurance company denied it owed Larry anything for his injury. With the help of that lawyer, the family finally got justice. Thatwas the moment when Rocky decided to become an attorney – to fight for people the way that lawyer fought for his dad and his family.

Rocky knows that hard working people who are injured should not be subjected to additional hardship because a big corporation or insurance company refuses to do the right thing. Rocky believes that injured people deserve an attorney they can trust to ensure that those that harm them are held fully accountable. Big corporations, and the billion-dollar insurance companies that back them should be held to the same standard we teach our children – to immediately take responsibility when they cause damage to another, and fully pay for the harms and losses.

Representing only the people, not the powerful, over the past 25 years, Rocky has built this law firm to fight for people like you. What makes Rocky different is that he really cares about his clients. Every injured person is his dad, and every ruthless insurance company is the one that impacted his family. From that viewpoint, Rocky and his team fight to make sure every client and their family get the maximum compensation for what they go through, not just a quick settlement to get them out the door.

Rocky builds friendships with his clients, not just professional relationships. Rocky went to trial for Ernest Atkinson in 2002. Ernie and Rocky would meet at least once every other month at the Beacon Light restaurant on Highway 100 to eat breakfast until Ernie passed away in 2006. Rocky knows your name and your story, not just your case number and date of injury.

The McElhaneys are passionate about their involvement with Gallatin CARES, a local food pantry, where they help Sumner County families who are going through hard times. Rocky knows that many of us are only one missed paycheck away from needing help.  He sees the value of his firm’s and his family’s contribution to CARES, as they often hear stories about how the firm’s own clients have reached out to the organization to stay afloat during the course of their case.

Rocky works hard and plays harder. He and his wife Penny have three adventurous boys, Luke, Jake, and Tate, and one sweet little girl, Isla, the youngest of the four, and easily the biggest hellion of them all. In what little free time he has, Rocky can be found coaching youth sports teams and enjoying lazy evenings grilling out on the back porch, black lab by his side, watching his little ones grow up way too quickly. He likes to SCUBA dive and snow ski. He enjoys Tennessee football games in autumn and Santa Rosa Beach, Florida in springtime. His adventurous spirit has led him to skydive, drive a NASCAR car at 155 MPH at the Kentucky Speedway, and cliff dive 35 feet into the Caribbean Sea at Rick’s Cafe in Jamaica. For more of Rocky’s biography, click here: http://www.rockylawfirm.com/our-staff/larry-r-rocky-mcelhaney/#sthash.oYRaktcu.dpuf