Murfreesboro Wrongful Death Lawyer

The clock in a Tennessee wrongful death case starts on the day of the injury, not the day of the death, and that single detail trips up grieving families in Rutherford County more often than any other. A crash on a Monday that ends in death weeks later in a Murfreesboro hospital still runs on a one-year deadline counted from the crash. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that represents families who have lost someone to a driver, a trucking company, a negligent property owner, or an unsafe workplace, and a Murfreesboro wrongful death lawyer from our team can start protecting evidence and deadlines right away.

Murfreesboro sits where Interstate 24 meets the traffic of Old Fort Parkway, Memorial Boulevard, and Medical Center Parkway, and where commuters, MTSU students, and freight haulers share the road every day. Those are the settings where fatal collisions tend to happen, and they are also the settings where fault gets disputed hardest. A death claim has to answer who was responsible, what the family lost, and which insurance policies are available to pay for it.

Situations That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims Near Murfreesboro

• Fatal Car and Motorcycle Crashes: Head-on impacts, red-light collisions, and rear-end wrecks on corridors like Old Fort Parkway and Memorial Boulevard, along with high-speed crashes on I-24. Distracted driving cases often turn on phone records, since Tennessee’s Hands Free law bars holding a device while driving.
• Drunk and Impaired Driving Deaths: Tennessee’s per se alcohol limit is 0.08%. When a fatal crash involves a suspected impaired driver, officers are directed to look into where the driver was served alcohol, which can open the door to claims beyond the driver.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Crashes: Freight traffic on I-24 and the surrounding routes brings logbooks, maintenance files, and electronic data into play, along with the trucking company’s own responsibility for hiring, training, and scheduling.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Deaths: Campus-area crossings, apartment corridors, and busy retail strips where drivers fail to yield or never see the person on foot or on a bike.
• Premises and Property Hazards: Fatal falls, drownings, fires, and carbon monoxide exposure caused by an owner or manager who ignored a hazard they knew about or should have found.
• Workplace and Construction Deaths: Workers’ compensation usually limits claims against the employer, but a negligent driver, equipment maker, or outside contractor can be sued in a third-party wrongful death case.
• Medical Negligence: Fatal errors in diagnosis, surgery, or medication carry their own procedural rules, including a one-year limitations period and a three-year outer limit for health care liability claims.
• Government-Related Deaths: Crashes involving public vehicles or unsafe public property fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, which requires suit within 12 months and caps recoveries.

Why Families Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for Wrongful Death Cases

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette serves families across Rutherford County and throughout Tennessee, representing people who lose a spouse, parent, or child to someone else’s carelessness. Our attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered over $100 million for clients. We meet families at home or at the hospital when travel is hard, offer free consultations, and charge no attorney fees in an injury case unless we recover compensation. Hablamos español; trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish and represents Spanish-speaking families in their own language.

Results in fatal cases matter more than slogans. 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 on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevier County. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, but they show the firm takes death cases to full value rather than settling for the first offer.

Co-founder Bruce D. Fox has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and has been selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers 17 times. 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 the association. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and sits on the association’s Board of Governors, as does partner John Willis. Two of our partners also spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how adjusters and defense lawyers evaluate a death claim and where they look for weaknesses. Our attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

What a Family Should Do After a Fatal Accident in Rutherford County

Start with the deadline. Tennessee has no separate statute of limitations for wrongful death; the one-year personal injury period applies and runs from the date of the injury. The period can stretch to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person responsible and the prosecution begins within that first year, but a family should never plan around that extension. Claims against a government entity must be filed within 12 months, and medical negligence claims have their own one-year period with a three-year outer limit. If the person who died was a minor injured as a child, different tolling rules can apply to the minor’s own claim, so ask a lawyer rather than guessing.

Preserve evidence before it disappears. Ask the investigating agency for the crash report, which may come from the Murfreesboro Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, or the Tennessee Highway Patrol depending on where the crash happened. Photograph the scene if you can do so safely, keep the vehicles from being repaired or scrapped, and save phone data, dashcam footage, and any text messages from the deceased. In trucking cases, a preservation letter to the carrier should go out quickly, because driver logs and electronic data can be overwritten.

Be careful with insurance companies. An adjuster for the at-fault driver may call within days, sound sympathetic, and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and an offhand comment about the deceased’s driving or health can later be used to assign blame. Tennessee follows modified comparative fault: a claim can proceed only if the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault, and any award is reduced by the deceased’s share. Fault can also be assigned to people who are not even named in the lawsuit, which is why early investigation matters.

Wrongful death lawsuits in this area are generally filed in the Rutherford County Circuit Court, which sits in the 16th Judicial District with Cannon County. Some cases belong in federal court, and the Middle District of Tennessee is the federal court for this region. A lawyer can tell you which court fits your case. Keep funeral bills, medical bills, and pay records for the person who died, since those documents become the backbone of the damages claim.

Who Can File and What Tennessee Law Allows a Family to Recover

Tennessee’s wrongful death statute sends the right to sue first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to a personal representative. A wrongful death action may be brought by the personal representative or the surviving spouse, and if there is no spouse, by the children or next of kin. A spouse can lose the right to bring or collect on the claim if the children or next of kin prove the spouse abandoned the deceased or willfully stayed away for two years. Disputes among relatives about who should lead the case are common, and they should be sorted out early so they do not stall the claim.

Damages in a death case usually include medical and funeral expenses, the income and benefits the person would have earned, the loss of companionship and guidance, and the pain and suffering the person endured before dying. Economic damages are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million when a parent of minor children dies, which the statute treats as a catastrophic loss. The jury decides by special verdict whether a catastrophic loss exists, and the cap is not disclosed to the jury but is applied by the judge afterward.

The noneconomic cap is lifted in certain situations, including when the defendant intended to cause the injury, was intoxicated at a level that substantially impaired judgment, destroyed or hid evidence, or was convicted of a felony connected to the conduct. Punitive damages, when allowed, are limited to the greater of two times the compensatory award or $500,000. These rules are one reason a death case involving a drunk driver can be valued very differently from an ordinary negligence case.

Insurance limits shape the practical picture too. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, which is rarely enough to cover a death. That makes uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the deceased’s own policy, and claims against employers, trucking companies, or property owners with larger policies, an important part of the analysis.

Wrongful Death Questions Rutherford County Families Ask

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

Generally one year from the date of the injury that caused the death, not the date the person died. A two-year period can apply when criminal charges are brought against the responsible person and prosecution starts within that first year. Government and medical negligence claims have their own rules, so speak with an attorney as soon as you can.

Who is allowed to bring the claim?

The right of action passes to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to the personal representative of the estate. The case is brought on behalf of those survivors, and the proceeds are distributed according to the statute.

Is a wrongful death case the same as a criminal case against the driver?

No. A prosecutor decides whether to bring criminal charges and must prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. The family controls the civil case, which seeks financial compensation under a lower standard of proof. A civil claim can go forward even if no charges are filed or the driver is acquitted.

What if my loved one was partly to blame?

You can still recover if the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault. The award is reduced by their percentage of fault. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred, so insurers push hard to shift blame onto the person who died.

Is there a cap on what we can recover?

Economic losses like lost income and medical and funeral bills are not capped. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million when a parent of minor children is killed. Exceptions apply for intoxicated defendants, intentional harm, destroyed evidence, and certain felony convictions.

Can we recover if the other driver had only minimum insurance?

Yes, but the policy may not cover the full loss. We look at uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on the deceased’s own policy, the driver’s employer, a trucking company, a bar or restaurant that overserved, and any other responsible party.

What if the crash involved a drunk driver who was served at a bar?

When an officer has probable cause that an impaired driver caused a fatal crash, state law directs the officer to look into where the driver was served and to notify the Alcoholic Beverage Commission within 48 hours. That investigation can produce records useful to the civil case.

My family member died at a hospital after a crash. Does that change the deadline?

The crash is what starts the clock, so the one-year period runs from the crash date, not the date of death. If a medical error contributed to the death, a separate health care liability claim has its own one-year period and a three-year outer limit.

Will we have to go to trial?

Most claims resolve through negotiation, but insurers pay more when they know the lawyer is ready for a jury. Our firm prepares each case as if it will be tried, and our trial record includes more than 125 jury trials by Bruce Fox alone.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

The consultation is free, and there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family. If travel is hard, we can meet you at home or at the hospital.

Can you help if my family member was killed 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 can be sued for wrongful death. Those claims can include damages workers’ compensation does not pay.

Serving Murfreesboro and the Surrounding Communities

We represent families in Murfreesboro and across Rutherford County, from the neighborhoods near Middle Tennessee State University and the Stones River area to the communities along Old Fort Parkway, Memorial Boulevard, and Medical Center Parkway. We also serve families in Smyrna, La Vergne, Eagleville, and Christiana, as well as people in neighboring Cannon County, which shares Rutherford County’s judicial district, and in nearby Williamson County and Nashville.

Beyond the Murfreesboro area, our attorneys represent clients throughout Middle, East, and West Tennessee, including Knoxville, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Clinton, LaFollette, Johnson City, and Memphis, and in counties such as Knox, Sevier, Blount, Anderson, Roane, and Campbell. If your family lives elsewhere in the state, we can review the case and travel to you when needed.

Talk With a Murfreesboro Wrongful Death Attorney

The weeks after a death are no time to be sorting through insurance letters and filing deadlines on your own. A Murfreesboro wrongful death attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can review what happened, tell you who may be responsible, and move quickly to preserve evidence while you focus on your family. Call us for a free consultation; we can come to you if that is easier, and you owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation.