Brentwood Wrongful Death Lawyer

A wrongful death case that starts in Brentwood does not unfold the way most people expect. The deadline is short, the person who files is dictated by statute rather than by family preference, and the fight over fault often begins within days of the funeral. Brentwood wrongful death lawyer is a search usually typed by someone who is grieving and trying to figure out what comes next. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents families who have lost someone because of another party’s negligence, and the firm serves Williamson County and families across Middle and East Tennessee.

Brentwood sits at the crossroads of some of the busiest corridors in the state. Interstate 65, Franklin Road, Old Hickory Boulevard, and Concord Road carry commuters, delivery trucks, and tractor-trailers headed to and from Nashville every day. Fatal crashes are the most common route into a wrongful death claim, but a death can also follow a medical error, a dangerous property, a defective product, or a work site failure. Each of those paths carries different rules, different defendants, and different clocks.

This is not the same as a criminal case. If a driver is prosecuted for the crash that killed your family member, the district attorney is pursuing punishment on behalf of the State. A wrongful death claim is a separate civil action that seeks financial accountability for the family. The two can run side by side, and the outcome of one does not control the other.

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

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that represents families after fatal crashes, trucking collisions, and other deaths caused by carelessness. The firm’s attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience, and the firm has recovered over $100 million for clients. Consultations are free, and in injury and wrongful death cases there are no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered. When grief or injury makes travel hard, the firm can meet families at home or in the hospital.

Wrongful death results speak louder than adjectives. The firm secured $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. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Co-founder Bruce D. Fox has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court. 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 is a past president of the Anderson County Bar Association. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish, and the firm welcomes Spanish-speaking families.

Two of the firm’s partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses. In a death case, where the other side is almost always an insurer or a corporation with a prepared playbook, that background matters. They know how fault gets shifted and how a claim gets valued behind closed doors. Our attorneys are also regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Situations That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims Near Brentwood

• Fatal Car Crashes: Distracted, drunk, and reckless drivers cause most of the deaths our families bring to us. Congestion on Franklin Road and Old Hickory Boulevard, and high-speed merging on Interstate 65, make the Brentwood area a real exposure point for rear-end, head-on, and failure-to-yield collisions.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Collisions: A loaded truck on the interstate corridor turns a mistake into a catastrophe. Driver logs, maintenance records, and electronic data can disappear quickly, so the claim often depends on how fast evidence is preserved.
• Motorcycle, Pedestrian, and Bicycle Deaths: Riders and walkers have no protection when a driver fails to look. These cases often involve disputes about visibility and speed, and insurers lean hard on comparative fault.
• Drunk and Impaired Driving Deaths: When a driver was intoxicated, the case can involve both a criminal prosecution and a civil claim. Tennessee law also directs officers investigating a fatal impaired-driving crash to look into where the driver was served alcohol, which can open additional avenues of accountability.
• Hands-Free Law Violations: Tennessee prohibits holding a phone while driving, texting, or watching video behind the wheel. Phone records can become important evidence when a distracted driver kills someone.
• Premises and Hazard Deaths: Falls, drownings, hot tub incidents, and carbon monoxide poisoning can kill. Property owners must keep premises reasonably safe, and maintenance records often reveal who failed to act.
• Workplace Deaths and Third-Party Claims: Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against an employer, but a negligent driver, equipment manufacturer, or contractor may be a separate target with exposure to a full wrongful death claim.
• Medical Negligence Deaths: Health care liability claims follow their own rules, including a three-year outer limit, and require careful early review.

What a Brentwood Family Should Do in the Days After a Fatal Accident

Start with the deadline, because it is the part families least expect. Tennessee has no standalone wrongful death statute of limitations. The one-year personal injury period applies, and it runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. If your loved one lived in a hospital for three weeks before passing, the clock still began on the day of the crash. There are exceptions, such as an extension to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person responsible, but a family should never plan around an exception. Claims against a governmental entity must be filed within 12 months, and health care liability claims carry their own one-year period with a three-year outer limit.

Next, preserve what disappears. Photograph the scene if you can do so safely, keep the vehicle from being repaired or salvaged, and do not discard clothing, phones, or medical devices. Ask the investigating agency for the crash report. Fatal crashes in and around Brentwood are investigated by local and state law enforcement, and that report becomes a foundation document. Save every medical record, bill, and funeral invoice, and write down the names of witnesses while memories are fresh.

Be careful with the insurance company. 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 anything you say can be used to assign blame to your loved one. Tennessee reduces recovery by the deceased person’s share of fault and bars recovery at 50 percent or more, so even small admissions can be costly. Likewise, do not sign a release or accept a quick payment before a lawyer has reviewed the full picture.

Finally, understand the courts. A wrongful death lawsuit is a civil case, and Tennessee circuit courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction. Cases arising from Brentwood are typically filed in the Williamson County circuit court, and some involve federal court when the parties are from different states. Estate matters, such as appointing a personal representative, are generally handled in the county’s chancery court. Speaking with a lawyer early lets these pieces be sequenced correctly. Our firm can come to you if you are not up to traveling.

Who Can File and What a Tennessee Family Can Recover

Tennessee law decides who holds the right to sue. The claim passes first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, and it may also be brought by the deceased person’s personal representative. A surviving 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 withdrew for two years. These rules explain why families with blended households, estranged relatives, or a surviving spouse and adult children need clear guidance before anyone files.

Recoverable damages generally include the medical and funeral expenses, the income the person would have earned, and the value of the life that was taken, including the loss of companionship and guidance. Economic damages, such as lost earnings and medical costs, are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, and that ceiling rises to $1 million where a parent of minor children has died. The cap is applied by the judge after the verdict and is not disclosed to the jury. It is lifted entirely in certain situations, including where the defendant acted intentionally, was intoxicated to a degree that substantially impaired judgment, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a felony tied to the conduct. Punitive damages, where available, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Insurance limits shape what is realistically collectible. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and many drivers carry little more than that. This is why identifying every responsible party, including an employer, a trucking company, a bar that overserved a driver, or an owner who negligently entrusted a vehicle, and why checking your own uninsured motorist coverage, can change the outcome. Tennessee has also abolished joint and several liability in most negligence cases, and fault can be assigned to non-parties, so a defendant may point at someone who is not even in the courtroom. Careful investigation guards against that.

Brentwood Wrongful Death Questions 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 from the date the person died. The period can be extended to two years where criminal charges are brought against the responsible person and the case is pursued against that same party. Governmental defendants and health care liability claims have their own timelines, so waiting is risky.

Who is allowed to bring the claim?

The right of action passes to the surviving spouse first, and if there is none, to the children or next of kin. The personal representative of the estate may also bring it. If you are unsure who holds the right in your family, a lawyer can sort that out before a filing.

What compensation can a family receive?

Typical categories include medical and funeral expenses, lost income and financial support the person would have provided, and the loss of the relationship itself. Economic losses are not capped, while noneconomic damages face statutory limits that can be lifted in specific circumstances.

Is the criminal case against the driver connected to our civil claim?

They are separate. A prosecution seeks punishment, while a wrongful death claim seeks compensation. A conviction can help the civil case, and an acquittal does not end it, because the burden of proof in a civil case is lower.

What if my loved one was partly at fault?

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. A family can still recover if the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault, but the award is reduced by that percentage. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred, which is why insurers work to push blame onto the person who died.

Do you charge anything to take a wrongful death case?

No. Consultations are free, and the firm is paid only if compensation is recovered. There are no attorney fees in a personal injury or wrongful death case unless that happens.

The driver who killed my father had almost no insurance. Is there anywhere else to look?

Often, yes. Responsibility may extend to an employer, a trucking company, an owner who entrusted a vehicle, or a business that served alcohol to an obviously impaired driver. Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may also apply. Tennessee’s minimum policy limits are low, so looking beyond the driver is routine.

Does a $750,000 cap mean our case is worth at most that amount?

No. The cap applies only to noneconomic damages such as loss of companionship. Lost income, medical bills, and funeral costs are not capped, and the limit does not apply at all in cases involving certain conduct such as intoxication or intentional harm.

Can a wrongful death claim be brought if my family member died weeks after the accident?

Yes, but the one-year clock still starts on the date of the injury. Families in this situation sometimes assume the deadline resets at death, and it does not.

What if the person who died was a minor or a stay-at-home parent with no paycheck?

The claim still has value. Courts consider the loss of the person’s companionship, care, and household contributions, and a death that leaves minor children can raise the noneconomic limit to $1 million. A lawyer can document these losses even where no wage records exist.

How long does a wrongful death case usually take?

It depends on the number of defendants, the amount of evidence in dispute, and whether the insurer will negotiate fairly. Many cases take a year or more, and if an insurer refuses to pay what the case is worth, our trial lawyers are prepared to take it to a jury.

Can you help if my family lives outside Tennessee?

Yes. The firm handles the investigation, insurance negotiations, and court filings here while keeping family members informed by phone and email, so you do not need to travel back for every step.

Serving Families From Brentwood Across Williamson County and Beyond

We represent grieving families who live in and around Brentwood in Williamson County, including those in neighboring Franklin, along with communities near the Nashville area who travel the same corridors, such as those along Franklin Road and Interstate 65. The firm also takes wrongful death cases from Nashville and Memphis, and when a death occurs far from home, we work with out-of-town relatives wherever they live.

Our service area reaches across Tennessee. In East Tennessee, we represent families in Knoxville and Knox County, Maryville and Blount County, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge in Sevier County, Clinton and Anderson County, and LaFollette and Campbell County. We have also handled cases for people from Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties, and clients from Johnson City and points in between. Wherever the crash or the death occurred, we can review the facts and explain what the law allows.

Talk With a Brentwood Wrongful Death Attorney Today

Losing someone to another party’s carelessness leaves a family with grief, questions, and a one-year deadline that does not wait. A Brentwood wrongful death attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can explain who has the right to file, which parties may be responsible, and what the claim may be worth, at no cost to you. Call to schedule a free consultation, and we will come to you if travel is difficult. Hablamos español.