Memphis Wrongful Death Lawyer

Families in Memphis who have just lost someone to a crash, a fall, or another person’s carelessness are suddenly facing a legal decision with a very short fuse. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury law firm that handles wrongful death claims for families in Memphis, Shelby County, and across the state, and a good first call is one that happens before the family has sorted out the funeral bills, the paperwork, or the insurance letters.

Tennessee does not have a separate clock written just for wrongful death. The one-year personal injury deadline is applied, and it counts from the date of the injury, not the date of death. That distinction catches families off guard. If someone is hurt in a collision and dies weeks or months later in the hospital, the year began on the day of the collision. When the person who caused the death is criminally charged, the period can stretch to two years, but only if the prosecution starts within a year of the injury and the family sues the same person who was charged.

Memphis families also deal with a question that is easy to overlook: who actually has the right to bring the case. In Tennessee the claim belongs to the surviving spouse first, then the children or next of kin, and it can be brought through a personal representative. Getting that decision right at the start keeps the case from being delayed later.

What Memphis Wrongful Death Claims Usually Involve

• Fatal Car and Motorcycle Crashes: Interstate 40, Interstate 240, Poplar Avenue, and Lamar Avenue carry heavy commuter and freight traffic, and fatal collisions involving distracted, impaired, or speeding drivers are the most common reason families call us. Tennessee’s Hands Free law bars holding a phone, reading or sending texts, and watching or recording video while driving, which can matter when phone records show what a driver was doing.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Deaths: Memphis is a freight hub, and crashes involving delivery trucks and tractor-trailers raise questions about driver logs, maintenance records, hiring practices, and electronic data that can be overwritten if nobody sends a preservation demand quickly.
• Drunk Driving Deaths: When an impaired driver causes a death, the case can reach beyond the driver. Under Tennessee’s Prevention of Drunk Driving Act, officers investigating a fatal crash with probable cause of impairment must look into where the driver was served alcohol and notify the Alcoholic Beverage Commission within 48 hours, which can open the door to additional responsible parties.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Fatalities: Poorly lit corridors, long stretches without crosswalks, and drivers who fail to yield produce deadly pedestrian and cyclist cases across Shelby County.
• Premises and Property Deaths: Falls from unsafe stairs, drownings at pools and hot tubs, and carbon monoxide poisoning in rental properties can all end in a wrongful death claim against an owner or manager who ignored a known hazard.
• Workplace Deaths and Third-Party Claims: Workers’ compensation generally limits claims against an employer, but a family may still have a case against a negligent driver, an equipment maker, or another contractor whose carelessness caused the death.
• Medical Negligence Deaths: Health care liability claims follow their own rules, including a one-year limitations period and a three-year outer limit, so these cases need immediate attention.
• Deaths Involving Government Vehicles or Property: Claims against a governmental entity under Tennessee’s Governmental Tort Liability Act must be filed within 12 months, and damages in those cases are capped.

How Tennessee Values a Life in a Wrongful Death Case

Families often ask what a claim can actually recover, and the honest answer starts with the two kinds of damages Tennessee recognizes. Economic damages cover the measurable losses: medical bills from the final injury, funeral and burial costs, and the income the person would have earned over the rest of a working life. Tennessee does not cap economic damages. Noneconomic damages cover the human loss, including the companionship, guidance, and love a family no longer has.

Noneconomic damages are where Tennessee’s limits come in. State law generally caps them at $750,000. The cap rises to $1 million in certain catastrophic situations, and one of those situations is the wrongful death of a parent who leaves behind minor children. A jury decides by special verdict whether that catastrophic category applies, and the jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it afterward. The cap can be lifted entirely when the defendant intended to cause the harm, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a felony tied to the conduct. That is one reason evidence preservation and the criminal case matter so much in a death claim.

Punitive damages are a separate matter. They are available in cases involving reckless or intentional conduct, and Tennessee limits them to the greater of two times the compensatory award or $500,000.

Fault is the other piece. Tennessee uses modified comparative fault, so a family can recover only if the person who died was less than 50 percent at fault, and any award is reduced by that percentage. Insurance companies know this and often try to shift blame onto someone who can no longer speak for themselves. Fault can also be assigned to people who are not even named in the lawsuit, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, so identifying every responsible party at the outset directly affects how much a family can collect.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Memphis Wrongful Death Case

Bruce D. Fox, a co-founder of the firm, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, and that courtroom record matters in death cases because insurers value a claim differently when they know the lawyer across the table will actually try it. The Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025 and its Paladin Award in 2011, and he is a past president of that association.

The firm represents injured people and grieving families throughout East Tennessee, Memphis, Nashville, and the rest of the state, with more than 170 years of combined attorney experience and over $100 million recovered for clients. Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how a wrongful death claim is evaluated and picked apart from the defense side. 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 of Governors and has tried cases across the state.

Results give that background weight. The firm recovered $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, and $1.9 million after a mother was killed and her daughter seriously injured by a driver who failed to yield in Sevier County. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Our Memphis wrongful death attorney team works on contingency, so there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and consultations are free. If a family cannot easily travel, we can meet at home or at the hospital, and Michael C. Beehan represents Spanish-speaking families in their own language. Hablamos español.

Serving Memphis and Shelby County Families

We represent families from Midtown, Downtown, and the Medical District through Cooper-Young, Binghampton, Orange Mound, and Frayser. Our reach extends east to Germantown, Collierville, Bartlett, and Cordova, south through Whitehaven and Westwood, and north into Raleigh and Millington. We also work with families in Lakeland, Arlington, and the neighborhoods around the Wolf River corridor and Poplar Avenue. Beyond Shelby County, we handle wrongful death cases across Tennessee, from Nashville and Johnson City to Knoxville, Sevierville, and the East Tennessee counties where the firm has long represented clients, including Knox, Sevier, Anderson, Blount, Roane, and Campbell. A death claim arising from a Memphis crash is typically filed in Shelby County, and we handle the court work while keeping you informed wherever you live.

What to Do Right Now After a Death in Memphis

Start with the date. Write down exactly when the fatal injury happened, because the one-year deadline runs from that day, not from the day of death. If a criminal case is pending against the person responsible, note that too, because it may extend the deadline to two years, but only under specific conditions that are not automatic. A call to a lawyer in the first weeks is far safer than a call in month eleven.

Next, protect the evidence. Ask the Memphis Police Department or the responding agency how to get the crash report, and keep the names of every officer and witness. Photograph the scene if you can, and do not let a vehicle be repaired or scrapped before it is examined. In truck cases, we send preservation letters to the carrier quickly, because logs and electronic data can be overwritten. In premises and carbon monoxide cases, keep the appliance, detector, and any maintenance paperwork exactly as they are. Be careful with insurance companies. An adjuster for the other side may call within days, sound sympathetic, and ask for a recorded statement. Those statements are often used to build a comparative fault argument. You are not required to give one. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, so in many fatal crashes the at-fault driver’s policy will not come close to covering the loss, and we look at uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the family’s own policy as well. Finally, sort out who holds the right to sue. The claim passes first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or it can be brought by a personal representative. A spouse can lose that right if the family can show the spouse abandoned the deceased or willfully stayed away for two years. Wrongful death filings in Shelby County are heard in the state trial courts there, and if the facts involve a federal question or parties from different states, the case may belong in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, which sits in Memphis. A lawyer should decide that forum before anything is filed, not after.

Memphis Wrongful Death Questions Families Ask

How long do I have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the injury that caused the death. The period does not restart at death. It can extend to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person responsible and the prosecution begins within a year of the injury. Claims against government entities and health care providers have their own shorter or different rules.

Who can bring a wrongful death claim?

The right passes to the surviving spouse first, then to the children or next of kin, and the action can be brought by a personal representative. If there is no surviving spouse, the children or next of kin may bring it.

What damages can a family recover?

Economic losses such as medical and funeral costs and lost future income, plus noneconomic losses such as loss of companionship. Economic damages are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages are generally limited, and punitive damages are possible in cases of reckless or intentional conduct.

What is Tennessee’s cap on noneconomic damages in a death case?

The general limit is $750,000, rising to $1 million when a parent dies leaving minor children. The jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it after the verdict. Exceptions apply for intentional harm, intoxication, destroyed evidence, and certain felony convictions.

What if my loved one was partly at fault?

You can still recover if your loved one was less than 50 percent at fault, but the award is reduced by their share. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred. Insurers lean on this rule heavily in death cases, so building the evidence early matters.

How much does it cost to hire the firm?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, which means no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and the first consultation is free.

The driver who killed my family member was drunk. Does that change the case?

It can. Impairment can support punitive damages and can remove the cap on noneconomic damages. It can also point to others who share responsibility, such as a business that over-served the driver, which is why police are directed to investigate where alcohol was served after a fatal crash.

Can I file a wrongful death claim if the criminal case is still going on?

Yes. The civil case is separate from the criminal prosecution, and you should not wait on the criminal outcome before protecting your deadline. A criminal charge can extend the filing window, but only under specific conditions, so confirm the dates with a lawyer rather than assuming.

Will my loved one’s own insurance matter if the at-fault driver has little coverage?

Often, yes. Tennessee’s minimum liability limits are low, so uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the deceased’s or family’s policies can become an important source of recovery. We review every policy that might apply.

Do I have to come to Tennessee courts in person if I now live out of state?

Usually not for every step. We handle the investigation, insurer negotiations, and court filings here and keep you updated by phone and email. If travel is hard because of grief or health, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

What if the death happened at work?

Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against the employer, but a third party such as a negligent driver, equipment manufacturer, or another contractor may be liable for more. Third-party claims can recover damages workers’ compensation does not pay, though the employer’s insurer may be entitled to reimbursement from the recovery.

Talk With a Memphis Wrongful Death Attorney Today

The weeks after losing someone are not a time to be studying statutes, and you do not have to. A Memphis wrongful death attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can review what happened, tell you who holds the right to sue, protect the evidence, and explain how Tennessee’s deadlines and damage rules apply to your family’s situation. Call us for a free consultation. If you cannot travel, we will come to you.