Tennessee Industrial Accident Lawyer

Hurt at a plant, a job site, or a warehouse in Tennessee, you are probably being pulled in two directions at once: take whatever your employer’s insurer offers, or find out whether there is more available. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury law firm that handles serious injury and wrongful death cases for people across East Tennessee and the rest of the state, and a Tennessee industrial accident lawyer from our team looks at that decision before it gets made for you.

Industrial accidents rarely have a single cause. A press without a working guard, a forklift operated by a staffing-agency employee, a crane owned by one contractor and operated on another’s site, a conveyor sold with a defective emergency stop: each involves several companies, and some of them are not your employer. That distinction decides what you can recover.

Most of our work in this area is on the claims that exist outside the workers’ compensation system, and those claims are controlled by a deadline that is shorter than most people expect.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for an Industrial Injury Claim

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents injured people and their families throughout East Tennessee and across the state, with attorneys who bring more than 170 years of combined experience to serious injury cases. The firm has recovered over $100 million for clients, and consultations are free. In personal injury cases there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. If your injuries make travel hard, we can meet you at home or in the hospital. Hablamos español, and trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish.

For industrial cases, the relevant background starts with Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, who served on the Tennessee Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation from 2008 to 2021. He has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025 after serving as the association’s president. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors. Partner John Willis also serves on that board and has tried cases from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses. They know how an industrial defendant’s insurer builds a file, what it looks for in a worker’s history, and where it expects a plaintiff to be careless.

Results matter more than adjectives. Our attorneys recovered $1.5 million for a Knox County roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed, and $1.6 million for an Anderson County man struck head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Our attorneys are also regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Where Industrial Accident Claims Come From

• Defective Machinery and Failed Safety Equipment: Presses, saws, lifts, harnesses, lockout devices, and guards that fail can create a product liability claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or maintenance contractor, separate from anything owed by your employer.
• Construction Site Falls and Struck-By Injuries: Sites in Knoxville, Sevierville, and along the Parkway corridor often have a general contractor, several subcontractors, and a property owner on the same footing. Any of them other than your employer may be a defendant.
• On-the-Job Vehicle Crashes: Delivery drivers, linemen, and tradespeople hit by negligent drivers on roads like Interstate 40, Interstate 75, and Highway 441 can pursue the other driver and sometimes that driver’s company.
• Tractor-Trailer and Forklift Incidents at Loading Docks: Distribution centers and plants bring freight carriers onto the premises, so a third-party driver or trucking company may share responsibility with the facility.
• Toxic Exposure, Fire, and Explosion: Chemical releases, combustible dust, and gas leaks can injure many workers at once and point toward equipment makers, contractors, or the property owner.
• Traumatic Brain, Spinal Cord, and Amputation Injuries: These are the permanent injuries where the gap between workers’ compensation benefits and a civil recovery is widest.
• Wrongful Death on the Job: When a worker dies, the right to sue passes under Tennessee statute to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or to a personal representative.

What to Do After an Industrial Accident in Tennessee

Get medical care first, and tell the provider exactly how the injury happened. Those early records become the foundation of every claim. Report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing, because workers’ compensation benefits depend on notice. But do not give a recorded statement to anyone’s insurer before you understand who it works for.

Then focus on what disappears. Machines get repaired, guards get replaced, and the failed part may go back to the manufacturer. If you can, photograph the equipment, the area, and your injuries, and write down the names of coworkers who saw it. Keep the clothing, harness, or tool involved. A letter asking the employer and any outside contractor to preserve the equipment, inspection logs, maintenance records, and surveillance footage is something an attorney can send quickly.

The deadline is the part people miss. Most Tennessee personal injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the injury. That period can extend to two years when criminal charges were brought against the person who caused the harm, the prosecution began within the first year, and you sue the person prosecuted. Property damage claims have three years. A claim against a governmental entity, such as a public works crew or a city vehicle, falls under the Governmental Tort Liability Act and must be filed within 12 months. Wrongful death follows the one-year period too, and it runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death.

Third-party lawsuits in East Tennessee are filed in the circuit court for the county where the case belongs. In Knox County, which is in the Sixth Judicial District, that means the Knox County Circuit Court in Knoxville. Cases involving out-of-state manufacturers or parties from different states can end up in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, whose Northern Division sits in Knoxville and covers counties including Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, and Sevier.

Workers’ Compensation Versus a Third-Party Lawsuit

Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer. It pays medical care and part of lost wages without proving fault, but it does not pay for pain, suffering, or the full loss of earning capacity. Tennessee’s system was overhauled for injuries on or after July 1, 2014, and our firm’s workplace practice centers on the claims that sit outside it: lawsuits against someone other than the employer whose negligence caused the injury.

A third-party case can reach damages that compensation benefits never will. Economic damages, meaning medical costs and lost income, are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss such as paraplegia or quadriplegia, the loss of two hands, feet, or one of each, or severe burns over 40 percent of the body or face. The jury decides whether a catastrophic loss exists, and the cap is applied by the judge afterward, not announced to the jury. Those limits are lifted when the defendant intentionally caused the injury, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony. Punitive damages, when available, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Fault is the other pressure point. Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. If you are found less than 50 percent responsible you can recover, reduced by your share; at 50 percent or more you recover nothing. Defendants can also point at nonparties, and in most negligence cases each defendant pays only its own share. Industrial defendants lean on this, arguing the injured worker ignored a procedure or the employer, who cannot be sued, was the real cause. Answering that means documenting training, staffing, and equipment condition early.

There is a coordination problem as well. The employer or its compensation insurer generally has a right to be repaid from your third-party recovery for benefits it already paid. Handling that lien from the start affects what you actually keep.

Questions About Industrial Accident Claims in Tennessee

Can I sue my employer after an industrial accident?

Generally no. Workers’ compensation is typically the exclusive remedy against your own employer. The opportunity usually lies with other companies whose negligence or defective products contributed to the injury.

How long do I have to file?

Most Tennessee personal injury suits must be filed within one year of the injury. It can extend to two years when the responsible person faces related criminal charges under the statute, and suits against governmental entities must be filed within 12 months. Workers’ compensation has its own notice rules, so report the injury right away.

What is a third-party claim?

It is a lawsuit against someone other than your employer, such as an equipment manufacturer, a subcontractor, a property owner, or a negligent driver. It can include pain and suffering and full lost earning capacity.

What if I was partly at fault?

You can still recover if you are less than 50 percent at fault, but your award is reduced by your percentage. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred.

Is there a cap on what I can recover?

Economic damages are not capped. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for catastrophic losses as Tennessee defines them. Exceptions apply for intentional conduct, intoxication, destroyed evidence, and related felony convictions.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee in personal injury cases, so no attorney fees are owed unless we recover compensation, and your first consultation is free.

Why does evidence matter so much in these cases?

Machines are repaired or sold, parts are returned to manufacturers, and logs get overwritten. Once the equipment is gone, proving a defect or a missing guard becomes much harder. Prompt preservation letters protect your claim.

Will my employer’s insurer get paid back from my settlement?

Generally the employer or its insurer has a right to reimbursement from a third-party recovery for benefits already paid. We work that into the strategy from the outset so it does not surprise you at the end.

My family member died in an industrial accident. Who can bring the claim?

Under Tennessee law the action passes to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or may be brought by a personal representative. A spouse who abandoned the deceased or willfully withdrew for two years can lose that right if the children or next of kin prove it. The one-year deadline runs from the date of the injury.

Can I still bring a claim if I was a temp or staffing-agency worker?

Often there are more potential defendants in that arrangement, including the company where you were placed. Who counts as your employer for compensation purposes affects what you can sue for, so the details of the placement matter. We review the contracts and the work site setup.

Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?

Treatment should not wait on the lawsuit. Workers’ compensation or health coverage may pay at first, and either may later assert a right to repayment from a recovery. Keep every bill and tell us what has been paid.

I live outside East Tennessee. Can you still help?

Yes. We represent clients from Johnson City to Memphis and handle the investigation, negotiations, and filings, meeting you at home or in the hospital if travel is hard.

Serving Industrial Injury Clients Across East Tennessee

Our work for industrial accident victims begins in Knox County and spreads outward. We represent injured workers and families in Knoxville, Farragut, Powell, Halls, Karns, Fountain City, and the Strawberry Plains area. We also serve Sevier County, including Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Seymour, and Blount County, including Maryville, Alcoa, Townsend, and Louisville.

To the north and west we serve Anderson County, including Clinton, Oak Ridge, Norris, and Oliver Springs, along with Roane County, Morgan County, Campbell County, including LaFollette and Jacksboro, and Claiborne County. We also represent clients from Jefferson County and Monroe County, and our reach extends across the state to Johnson City, Nashville, and Memphis. Wherever the plant, site, or road, we handle the case in Tennessee.

Talk With a Tennessee Industrial Accident Attorney

The deadline is short, the evidence is fragile, and the companies responsible have lawyers and insurers already working. A Tennessee industrial accident attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can tell you whether you have a claim beyond workers’ compensation and who is responsible for it. Call us for a free consultation. We can come to you at home or in the hospital, and you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation.