Tennessee Roofing Accident Lawyer

If you fell from a roof, were hurt by a failed harness, or lost someone to a roofing job, you are probably weighing a hard question right now: who do you go after, and how soon? Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury law firm that represents injured workers, tradespeople, and families statewide, from Knoxville and Sevier County to Memphis and everywhere between. Whether you are looking for a Tennessee roofing accident lawyer to handle a fall, a defective product claim, or a death case, the answer depends on facts that begin to disappear the day of the accident.

Roofing is one of the most dangerous trades in the state. Falls from roof edges, through skylights, off ladders, and through deteriorated decking account for the worst injuries: traumatic brain injuries, shattered spines, crushed heels and pelvises, and deaths. Most roofers are hurt while working for someone, which means workers’ compensation is part of the picture. But it is rarely the whole picture, and the part that is left out is often the part worth the most.

Why Roofing Injuries Often Support a Claim Beyond Workers’ Compensation

Tennessee workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer. That is the starting point, and it surprises people who assume a negligent roofing company can simply be sued. The workers’ compensation system pays medical care and partial wage benefits, but it does not pay for pain and suffering, and it does not compensate the full loss of earning capacity the way a lawsuit can.

The opening comes from everyone else on or around the job. A roofing crew rarely works alone on a site. There may be a general contractor who controlled safety on the project, a property owner who ignored a known rotted section of decking, a subcontractor who left an unguarded opening, a staffing company that placed an untrained worker, or a manufacturer whose harness, anchor, lanyard, or ladder failed. A claim against any of those parties is a third-party claim, and it can include pain and suffering and the full value of lost earning capacity. Our firm focuses its workplace injury practice on exactly these claims.

Equipment cases deserve special attention. We recovered $1.5 million for a roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Knox County when his safety harness failed. When fall protection fails, the failed gear, the anchor point, and the purchase and inspection history all become evidence, and that evidence needs to be secured before it is repaired, discarded, or “lost” after the incident.

Who Can Be Held Responsible After a Roofing Fall

Liability in a roofing case is a matter of tracing control. Who decided how the work would be done? Who was supposed to provide guardrails, nets, or tie-off points? Who owned the roof and knew it was unsound? A Tennessee roofing injury attorney builds the case by working through each layer of the job site.

A general contractor that retains control over safety or site conditions can face a claim when a subcontractor’s employee is hurt. A property owner or commercial building manager may be responsible for hidden hazards such as weakened decking or unmarked skylights. A manufacturer or distributor can be responsible when a ladder, scaffold, harness, or nail gun was defective. A negligent driver who strikes a roofing crew on the way to or from a job, or a truck hauling materials, can be a third party as well. Tennessee also allows fault to be assigned to people who are not parties to the lawsuit, which means the defense will try to spread blame onto everyone it can, including the injured worker.

Roofing Injury Situations We See in Tennessee

• Falls from Roof Edges and Open Surfaces: Missing guardrails, unprotected edges, and steep pitches on residential reroofs and commercial flat roofs lead to the most serious injuries, including spinal cord damage and brain injury.
• Falls Through Skylights and Rotted Decking: Older buildings, barns, and storm-damaged structures hide weak sections that give way without warning. Property owners who knew about the condition may share responsibility.
• Harness and Fall Protection Failures: Frayed lanyards, broken anchors, and defective connectors can turn a safety system into the cause of the injury, which opens a product liability claim against the manufacturer or seller.
• Ladder and Scaffold Collapses: Defective equipment, improper setup by a contractor, and uneven ground around a home or building can each be the basis of a third-party case.
• Storm Repair Crews and Seasonal Work: After hailstorms and high winds, crews are hired quickly, often with little training or supervision, and injury risk climbs with the pressure to finish.
• Electrocution and Burns: Contact with overhead power lines, faulty tools, and hot tar or torch-down equipment cause severe injuries that can reach the catastrophic category under Tennessee’s damages rules.
• Vehicle Crashes Involving Roofing Crews: Workers hit on the road to a job site, or struck by a truck at a loading area, may have both a workers’ compensation claim and a lawsuit against the negligent driver.
• Wrongful Death of a Roofer: When a fall is fatal, the family may pursue a wrongful death claim against responsible third parties alongside any workers’ compensation death benefits.

Why Roofers and Families Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette

Our results in serious injury and wrongful death cases speak to what this kind of case demands. The firm has recovered over $100 million for clients, including $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, $1.6 million for an Anderson County man struck head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work, and the $1.5 million roofer brain injury recovery in Knox County. Our attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience to these cases.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses before moving to the plaintiff’s side. That matters in a roofing case, where the other side is often a contractor’s insurer and a team of defense counsel who will look for any reason to assign fault to the worker. Our lawyers know how those claims are evaluated and where they are vulnerable.

Trial experience is part of that story. Co-founder Bruce D. Fox has tried more than 125 jury trials, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and served on the Tennessee Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation from 2008 to 2021, giving him unusual insight into how the workers’ compensation system interacts with a third-party suit. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has served on the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors, and Partner John Willis serves on that board as well. The firm’s attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine. We represent injured people on a contingency basis, so there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, consultations are free, and we can meet you at home or in the hospital if you cannot travel. Hablamos español, and trial attorney Michael C. Beehan represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language, which matters in a trade where many workers speak Spanish first.

What to Do After a Roofing Accident in Tennessee

Get medical care first, and tell every provider exactly how you were hurt. If you were working, report the injury to your employer promptly so your workers’ compensation benefits are not put at risk, and keep a copy of whatever you submit. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance adjuster, whether it is your employer’s carrier or a third party’s, before you have talked to a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to find language that can be used to shift blame to you.

The clock is the most important practical fact. Tennessee generally gives you one year from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. That period can stretch to two years if the person who caused your injury faces criminal charges and the prosecution begins within the first year, but you should never plan around that exception. In a death case, the one-year period still runs from the date of the injury itself, not from the date of death, so a worker who lingers in the hospital for weeks has not gained that time back. If the injured person was under 18 at the time, the deadline is paused until the minor’s eighteenth birthday. Claims against a government entity under the Governmental Tort Liability Act must be filed within 12 months, and damages in those cases are capped at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence.

Preserve evidence early. Photograph the roof, the edge protection, the ladder, the anchor points, and the weather conditions if you can do so safely, or ask a coworker or family member to. Write down the names of everyone on the crew, the general contractor, and the property owner. Keep the harness, lanyard, ladder, or tool involved and do not let anyone repair, return, or throw it away. Request incident reports, safety training records, and any OSHA documentation. A prompt letter from a lawyer demanding that the equipment and records be kept can prevent a key piece of proof from vanishing.

Cases like these are tried in the state trial court that serves the county where the injury happened. Knox County, for example, sits in the Sixth Judicial District, which has a Circuit Court, a Chancery Court, and a Criminal Court. Cases involving parties from different states, or certain federal claims, may belong in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, whose Northern Division sits in Knoxville. Which court is right depends on who the defendants are and where they are located, and we sort that out before filing.

How Damages Work in a Roofing Injury Lawsuit

Economic damages are not capped in Tennessee. That includes medical bills, future care, lost wages, and the loss of earning capacity, which can be the largest piece of the case for a roofer who can no longer climb, lift, or work at all. Noneconomic damages, such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss such as paraplegia or quadriplegia from a spinal cord injury, amputation of two hands, feet, or one of each, or severe burns over large portions of the body or face. The jury decides whether a loss is catastrophic through a special verdict, and the court applies the cap afterward without telling the jury about it. Those limits can be lifted if the defendant intentionally caused the injury, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony.

Fault also shapes the number. Tennessee follows modified comparative fault, so you can recover only if you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share. Defense lawyers often argue that a roofer chose not to tie off or ignored a known danger. Because a roofing contractor and a general contractor usually control the safety equipment and the schedule, that argument can be answered with evidence about who was actually in charge. Tennessee has also abolished joint and several liability in most negligence cases, so each defendant is generally responsible only for its own percentage, which is another reason to identify every responsible party early. If your employer’s insurer paid workers’ compensation benefits, it will usually have a right to be reimbursed from a third-party recovery, so the two claims have to be coordinated from the outset.

Roofing Accident Questions Tennessee Workers and Families Ask

Can I sue my roofing company if I fell at work?

In most cases, no. Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer. But if a general contractor, property owner, equipment maker, or another subcontractor contributed to the fall, you may have a third-party lawsuit that pays damages workers’ compensation does not.

How long do I have to file a roofing injury lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the injury. It can extend to two years when the person who caused the injury is criminally charged and the prosecution begins within the first year. Waiting is risky because evidence disappears and the deadline is among the shortest in the country.

What if my employer said I was an independent contractor?

Many roofers are labeled independent contractors even when the company controls their hours, tools, and methods. How you are classified can change which claims are available, and the label an employer uses is not always the label the law will accept. We look at how the work actually operated.

Can I recover anything if I wasn’t wearing my harness?

Possibly. Tennessee allows recovery as long as you are less than 50 percent at fault, with your award reduced by your percentage. The question is often why you were not tied off, whether anchor points existed, and whether the company supplied working equipment.

What compensation is available in a roofing accident case?

Medical expenses, future care, lost income, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering are all potentially recoverable in a third-party case. Economic damages are not capped, while noneconomic damages are subject to Tennessee’s statutory limits.

What happens if a family member died in a roofing fall?

The right to bring a wrongful death claim passes first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or it can be pursued by a personal representative. Recoverable losses can include lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life that was taken. The one-year deadline runs from the date of the accident, not the date of death.

The roofer who hired me is uninsured. Do I still have options?

Often yes. Workers’ compensation may still apply depending on the employment relationship, and the general contractor or property owner who hired the roofer may carry coverage and bear responsibility. We examine every layer of the project to find where coverage and liability actually sit.

Should I give a statement to the insurance company?

Not before speaking with a lawyer. Statements given early, often while you are medicated or in pain, can be used to argue you were careless or that your injuries are less serious than they are.

Will my health insurance or workers’ compensation cover care while the case is pending?

If the injury happened on the job, workers’ compensation should cover authorized medical treatment. The insurer that pays those benefits generally has a right to be reimbursed from a later third-party recovery, so we track those payments from the beginning so there are no surprises at settlement.

Does it cost anything to talk to your firm about a roofing injury?

No. Consultations are free, and in injury cases there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. If you cannot travel because of your injuries, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

I was hurt on a roof in Tennessee but I live in another state. Can you still help?

Yes. We handle the investigation, insurance negotiations, and court filings here and keep you updated by phone and email while you recover wherever you live.

Roofing Accident Representation Across East Tennessee and the State

We represent injured roofers and families across the state, with deep experience in the counties around Knoxville. Cases arising in Knox County reach us from Knoxville and the surrounding communities, and we regularly work with clients from Blount County, including Maryville, and Sevier County, including Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, where construction and cabin and resort roofing keep crews busy year round. We serve Anderson County and Clinton, Campbell County and LaFollette, and neighboring Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties. Beyond East Tennessee, we handle cases for clients from Johnson City to Nashville and Memphis, and everywhere in between. If your injuries make it hard to come to us, we will come to you.

Talk With a Tennessee Roofing Accident Attorney Today

The sooner we can begin, the better the chance of securing the harness, the roof conditions, the site records, and the witness accounts that decide a case. If you or someone in your family was hurt or killed in a roofing accident, call Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette to speak with a Tennessee roofing accident attorney about what happened. The consultation is free, you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and we will explain which claims are available to you and how much time you have to bring them.