Tennessee Defective Machinery Injury Lawyer

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents workers and families across Tennessee who have been hurt by equipment that failed when it should have held, stopped, or shielded someone from harm. A Tennessee defective machinery injury lawyer looks at more than the accident itself. The real question is why the machine did what it did: a design that left a danger zone exposed, a guard that was never installed, a sensor that was serviced badly, or a safety harness that gave way under a load it was sold to carry.

That question matters because of how Tennessee treats injured workers. In most situations, workers’ compensation is the only remedy against your own employer. A defective machinery claim is usually aimed at someone else: the manufacturer, a distributor, a company that maintained or modified the equipment, or a property owner or contractor who controlled the site. Those claims can reach damages that workers’ compensation does not pay, including pain and suffering and the full loss of earning capacity.

The firm has taken cases like this to verdict and settlement, including a $1.5 million recovery for a Knox County roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for Machinery Defect Claims

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee injury firm that has recovered over $100 million for clients, and its attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience to serious injury and wrongful death cases. The firm serves clients across East Tennessee, including Knox, Anderson, Blount, Sevier, Campbell, Roane, and Morgan counties, and represents people from Johnson City to Memphis. Injury cases are handled on a contingency basis, so there are no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered, and every consultation is free. If your injuries make travel hard, the attorneys can meet you at home or in the hospital.

Several results speak directly to equipment and workplace cases. Beyond the roofer’s $1.5 million harness recovery, the firm obtained $1.6 million for an Anderson County man struck head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work, and $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County crash involving a construction company driver. Those cases share a thread with machinery claims: a working person, a corporate defendant, and an insurer that disputed what the case was worth.

Two of the firm’s partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses before moving to the plaintiff side. In a product case, that matters. Manufacturers defend these claims by blaming misuse, missing maintenance, or the worker’s own choices, and lawyers who have built those defenses know where they are weakest.

Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He also served on the Tennessee Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation from 2008 to 2021, which gives him a close view of where workers’ compensation ends and a third-party claim begins. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on the TTLA Board of Governors, as does partner John Willis, who has tried cases from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish and represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language. Hablamos español.

Common Types of Defective Machinery Injury Cases

• Safety Harnesses and Fall Protection Failures: Roofers, framers, and tower and bridge workers depend on harnesses, lanyards, anchors, and lifelines. When a buckle, stitching, or anchor point fails, the fall is often catastrophic. The Knox County roofer case is the kind of claim where the equipment itself, not the employer, is the target.
• Presses, Saws, and Cutting Equipment: Missing or defeatable guards, faulty light curtains, and failed emergency stops cause crush injuries and amputations in manufacturing plants, sawmills, and fabrication shops across East Tennessee.
• Forklifts, Lifts, and Aerial Platforms: Tip-overs, hydraulic failures, and brake defects injure warehouse and construction workers. Defects in stability design or missing operator restraints are frequent issues.
• Conveyors and Packaging Lines: Pinch points, inadequate lockout capability, and poorly designed access panels can pull a hand or arm into moving parts, producing permanent limb loss and nerve damage.
• Construction and Heavy Equipment: Cranes, excavators, skid steers, and trench equipment fail through faulty controls, weak components, or backup alarm and visibility defects, often on sites with several contractors.
• Power Tools and Handheld Equipment: Nail guns, grinders, and saws without proper blade guards or with defective triggers cause serious hand, eye, and head injuries for tradespeople.
• Amusement Rides and Recreation Equipment: Ride restraint failures, mechanical breakdowns, and rafting or outdoor recreation equipment defects injure visitors in Sevier County and throughout the state.
• Farm and Agricultural Machinery: Tractors, augers, and balers with missing shields or flawed rollover protection cause some of the most devastating injuries in rural counties.

What to Do After Machinery Hurts You or a Family Member

Get medical care first, and tell every provider exactly how the injury happened. Those early records become the foundation of the claim. Report the injury to your employer promptly so your workers’ compensation benefits are protected; that claim and a defective machinery claim run side by side, and one does not replace the other.

The single most important step after that is protecting the machine. Do not let it be repaired, scrapped, sold, or returned to the manufacturer before someone qualified has examined it. The failed part, the guard that was or was not in place, the maintenance log, the control settings, and any onboard data are the heart of a product case. Ask your employer in writing to preserve the equipment and its records, and have a lawyer send formal preservation demands to the manufacturer, any outside maintenance company, and the property owner. Photograph the machine, the work area, warning labels, and your injuries if you safely can, and write down the names of coworkers who saw what happened.

Be careful with statements. Insurance adjusters, including the workers’ compensation carrier and the carrier for any other company involved, may ask for recorded interviews. You are not required to give a recorded statement to a company that may later be adverse to you, and casual remarks about how you were using the equipment can be turned into a misuse defense.

The deadline is short. Most Tennessee personal injury claims must be filed within one year of the injury, and that clock starts on the date you were hurt, not when you learn the machine was defective. In a wrongful death case, the one-year period also runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. The period is extended to two years in a narrow situation involving criminal charges against the person who caused the injury, but a product claim rarely fits that exception. A minor’s deadline is paused until age 18. Property damage claims carry a separate three-year period. Waiting to see how recovery goes can end a claim before it starts.

Where a case is filed depends on the facts. Many injury lawsuits go to the circuit court of the county where the injury happened or where a defendant does business; Knox County, for example, sits in the Sixth Judicial District. Claims against out-of-state manufacturers are sometimes filed in or moved to federal court, and for East Tennessee that means the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, with its Northern Division in Knoxville. A lawyer weighs those choices early because they affect the jury pool, the timeline, and the leverage in negotiation.

How a Defective Machinery Claim Differs From a Workers’ Compensation Claim

People often assume that because they were hurt on the job, workers’ compensation is the whole story. It is not. Workers’ compensation pays medical care and a share of lost wages regardless of fault, but it does not pay for pain, suffering, or the full loss of what you could have earned over a career. A third-party claim against the maker of the machine can. When an injury leaves someone permanently unable to work, that gap can be enormous.

Tennessee product claims are generally built on a few theories. A design defect means the machine was unreasonably dangerous as conceived, often because a safer alternative design was available. A manufacturing defect means the particular unit left the factory flawed. A warning or instruction defect means the danger was real but not adequately explained. Separate from the maker, a contractor who serviced or modified the equipment, a rental company, or a property owner who controlled the site may share responsibility under ordinary negligence principles.

Fault is argued hard in these cases. Tennessee follows modified comparative fault: you can recover only if you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your percentage. Tennessee also generally does not make defendants jointly responsible for each other’s share, and fault can be assigned to people or companies who are not even in the lawsuit, including your own employer. Defendants use that to point at the employer, the worker, or anyone but themselves, which is why a thorough investigation of the machine and the worksite matters.

Damages in Tennessee have two sides. Economic damages, such as medical expenses and lost income, are not capped. Noneconomic damages for pain and suffering are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia or the loss of two hands, two feet, or one of each. A jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it afterward. Punitive damages, reserved for the most serious misconduct, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000. Your employer or its insurer also generally has a right to be repaid from your recovery for benefits already paid, so the two claims must be coordinated from the start.

Questions About Tennessee Defective Machinery Injury Claims

Can I sue the manufacturer if I already receive workers’ compensation benefits?

Yes. Collecting workers’ compensation does not stop you from pursuing a separate claim against a company other than your employer, such as the equipment manufacturer. Your employer or its insurer may be entitled to reimbursement from the recovery, which is why the two claims are managed together.

How long do I have to file a defective machinery lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the injury. That is among the shortest deadlines in the country, and it does not wait for your medical treatment to finish. Wrongful death claims also run one year from the date of the injury that caused the death.

Who can be held responsible besides the manufacturer?

Depending on the facts, responsibility can reach a distributor or seller, a company that installed, repaired, or modified the machine, an equipment rental business, a general contractor, or a property owner who controlled the site. Part of early investigation is identifying every party with a role.

What if the machine was old or had been repaired by my employer?

Age and prior repairs do not end a claim, but they change the analysis. A defect that existed from the start may still point back to the manufacturer, while a faulty repair or missing maintenance may point to another party. An inspection of the machine and its service history sorts this out.

What if I was partly to blame for the accident?

You can still recover if you are less than 50 percent at fault, with your award reduced by your share. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred. Manufacturers often argue misuse or bypassed safety features, so evidence about training, supervision, and the machine’s design carries real weight.

What compensation is available?

Economic damages include medical bills, future care, and lost income and earning capacity, and these are not capped. Noneconomic damages cover pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, subject to Tennessee’s statutory limits. In a death case, a family can seek lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life that was taken.

Will the case need an expert, and who pays for one?

Almost always. Engineers and other specialists examine the machine, test components, and explain the defect to a jury. Because the firm handles injury cases on contingency, you do not pay fees up front, and you owe no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered.

My company told me the machine was fine and the accident was my fault. Should I believe that?

Not without independent review. Employers and their insurers have their own interests, including shifting blame away from the equipment. Do not sign statements or accept conclusions until the machine and records have been examined by someone working for you.

Can a family bring a claim if a worker was killed by faulty equipment?

Yes. Tennessee law passes the right of action to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or to a personal representative who can bring the case. The one-year deadline runs from the date of the injury, so families should not wait.

Do I have to come to Tennessee for every step if I was hurt here but live elsewhere?

No. The firm handles the investigation, negotiations, and court filings here and keeps clients informed wherever they live, and it can meet seriously injured clients at home or in the hospital.

Is a defective machinery case worth pursuing if my injuries healed?

It can be, particularly when you had surgery, lost work time, or have lasting limits. A free consultation lets the attorneys tell you whether the machine, the injury, and the available insurance justify a claim before you commit to anything.

Serving Injured Workers and Families Across East Tennessee and Beyond

Machinery injuries happen wherever people work, so the firm’s reach follows the state’s industries. In Knox County, that means plants, job sites, and shops in and around Knoxville, and in Anderson County, workers in Clinton, Oak Ridge, and Oliver Springs. In Blount County, the firm serves people in Maryville and Alcoa, and in Sevier County, injured workers and visitors in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg. Clients also come from Campbell County, including LaFollette, and from Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties.

The firm represents people from Johnson City to Nashville to Memphis and every community between them, and it handles machinery and workplace third-party claims for Tennessee workers wherever the equipment failed. Whether you were hurt in a factory, on a roof, at a quarry, or on a farm, the attorneys can review what happened, explain your options, and travel to you when your injuries make that difficult. Spanish-speaking clients can be represented in Spanish.

Talk With a Tennessee Defective Machinery Injury Attorney Today

If equipment failed and you or someone you love paid the price, a Tennessee defective machinery injury attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can examine the facts, move to preserve the machine and its records, and tell you plainly where your claim stands. With a one-year filing deadline, early action protects evidence and options that disappear quickly.

The consultation is free, and you pay no attorney fees unless the firm recovers compensation for you. Call today to talk through what happened and what comes next.