Collierville Premises Liability Lawyer

A fall at a Collierville store, restaurant, or apartment complex usually turns on one question: did the property owner know about the hazard, or should they have found it before you got hurt? Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that handles Collierville premises liability cases for people hurt by unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, and we represent injured clients across Shelby County and the rest of the state.

Collierville is a busy retail and dining town, and its commercial footprint matters to these claims. Around the historic Town Square, the shopping centers along Poplar Avenue, grocery stores, medical offices, schools, and the apartment and townhome communities that surround them, thousands of people walk across floors, curbs, and parking lots every day. When one of those surfaces is wet, cracked, dark, or cluttered and nobody does anything about it, the person who gets hurt often faces a broken hip, a torn rotator cuff, or a head injury, followed by an insurance adjuster who says the fall was your fault.

Premises cases are won on proof that tends to disappear: the spill that gets mopped up, the security video that is overwritten, the broken light that gets fixed the next morning. The work starts with locking down what the property owner knew and when they knew it.

Where Collierville Premises Liability Claims Come From

• Slip and Fall on Wet or Slick Floors: Grocery stores, restaurants, big-box retailers, and medical offices see tracked-in rain, leaking coolers, and freshly mopped floors with no warning sign. These cases turn on how long the hazard existed and whether employees followed any inspection routine.
• Trip Hazards and Broken Pavement: Cracked sidewalks, raised seams, potholes in parking lots, loose mats, and uneven curbs near shopping centers and the Town Square area cause wrist fractures, knee injuries, and facial trauma, especially for older visitors.
• Poor Lighting and Stair Defects: Dim stairwells, missing handrails, and unlit parking decks and walkways lead to falls after dark. Property owners are expected to maintain reasonable lighting and sound stairs, and maintenance logs often tell the story.
• Negligent Security: Apartment communities, parking lots, and commercial properties that ignore known crime problems, broken gates, or burned-out lights may be responsible when a visitor or tenant is assaulted.
• Apartment and Rental Property Hazards: Landlords and property managers can be liable for rotted balconies, failed railings, mold, carbon monoxide exposure from faulty appliances, and unrepaired common areas.
• Swimming Pool and Hot Tub Injuries: Neighborhood pools, hotel pools, and spas can involve drain entrapment, electrical faults, missing barriers, and bacterial infections such as Legionnaires’ disease.
• Falling Objects and Unsafe Displays: Overstocked shelves, poorly secured merchandise, and falling signage injure shoppers and are often traced to employee stocking practices.
• Dog Bites and Other Hazards on Private Property: Owners and landlords may answer for animals and conditions they knew were dangerous, particularly where a visitor was lawfully invited onto the property.

Proving a Property Owner Was Responsible

Tennessee does not make a property owner the insurer of everyone who walks through the door. An owner must keep the premises reasonably safe and deal with hazards they created, knew about, or should have discovered through reasonable inspection. That last category, constructive notice, is where most Collierville slip and fall cases are fought. If a puddle sat on a grocery aisle for forty minutes while employees walked past it, the store had a fair chance to fix it. If a customer spilled it ten seconds earlier, that is a harder case.

Evidence that carries weight includes surveillance footage, incident reports, inspection and cleaning logs, employee schedules, prior complaints, repair records, photographs of the hazard, and the shoes and clothing you wore. We send preservation demands early because retailers routinely overwrite video on a short loop and repair a defect the moment the ambulance leaves.

Medical proof matters just as much. Falls that look minor on the day often turn into surgery, months of therapy, and time away from work. We document the full cost of treatment and the way the injury changed your life, including lost income and lost earning capacity.

Fault, Damages Limits, and How Insurers Fight These Claims

Insurers defending premises claims lean on comparative fault. Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule: you can recover only if you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your percentage. Expect arguments that you were looking at your phone, wearing the wrong shoes, or ignored an open and obvious condition. A defendant can also try to assign fault to people who are not in the lawsuit, such as a cleaning contractor or a tenant, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, so identifying every responsible party at the start matters.

Tennessee generally caps noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, at $750,000, rising to $1 million for defined catastrophic losses such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, certain amputations, severe burns, and the wrongful death of a parent of minor children. Economic damages like medical bills and lost wages are not capped. The noneconomic cap is lifted in limited situations, including where the defendant acted intentionally, was intoxicated, or destroyed evidence. Punitive damages, when allowed, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Collierville Premises Case

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette has recovered over $100 million for injured clients, and our attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience to serious injury and wrongful death cases. Among our results are $1.5 million for a Knox County roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed, a case built on proving who was responsible for unsafe equipment, and $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County collision. We serve clients across Shelby County and throughout Tennessee, including people hurt while visiting from out of state.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how a property owner’s carrier evaluates a fall claim and where its defenses are weakest. Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials, belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates, received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a past president of that association. Brad C. Burnette, partner, holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has served on the TTLA Board of Governors, and partner John Willis also serves on that board. Michael C. Beehan, trial attorney, is fluent in Spanish, and we welcome Spanish-speaking clients: hablamos español.

There are no attorney fees in a personal injury case unless we recover compensation for you, and every consultation is free. If your injuries make travel difficult, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

What to Do After You Are Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in Collierville

Get medical care first, even if you think you were lucky. Falls cause hidden injuries to the spine, hips, and brain, and a gap between the accident and your first appointment gives an insurer room to argue you were not really hurt. Tell the doctor exactly how the fall happened so it is in the record.

Report the incident to the store manager, landlord, or property manager and ask that it be written down. Do not guess about the cause, and do not apologize or minimize your injuries. If you can, photograph the hazard, the lighting, the surrounding area, and any warning signs or lack of them before conditions change. Get names and numbers of witnesses and employees. Keep your shoes and clothing as they were. If a Collierville police officer or emergency crew responded, ask how to get a copy of the report.

Be careful with the property owner’s insurance adjuster. A recorded statement given early, before you know the extent of your injuries, can be used to shrink your claim. Refer calls to us instead.

Deadlines are short. Most Tennessee personal injury claims must be filed within one year of the injury, and that clock runs from the date of the fall, not the end of your treatment. The period can reach two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the injury within that first year, as in some security or intoxication cases. Property damage claims have three years. If a government entity owns the property, the Governmental Tort Liability Act requires suit within 12 months and caps damages at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence. If the injured person is a minor, the limitations period is paused until the child turns 18. Premises lawsuits against private owners in Collierville are generally filed in the Shelby County trial courts, and we can explain which court fits your claim.

Common Questions About Collierville Premises Liability Claims

How long do I have to file a premises liability lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the injury. Because Tennessee’s deadline is among the shortest in the country, waiting to see how you heal can cost you your claim. Special rules apply to claims against government entities and to injured minors.

What does “constructive notice” mean in a slip and fall case?

It means the owner should have found the hazard through reasonable inspection even if no employee actually saw it. Proof can come from how long a spill or defect was present, cleaning logs, employee schedules, and video showing people walking past it.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault for my fall?

Yes, as long as you are less than 50 percent at fault. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage. At 50 percent or more, you are barred. Insurers often push blame onto the injured person, so the evidence about what the owner did wrong is critical.

What if the hazard was “open and obvious”?

Owners often argue that a visible hazard should have been avoided. That argument is folded into the fault analysis. A visible hazard can still support liability when the owner could have reasonably anticipated that people would encounter it anyway, such as a hazard in a place customers must walk.

Who can be responsible besides the store or building owner?

Property managers, landlords, tenants who control a space, cleaning and maintenance contractors, security companies, and equipment manufacturers may share responsibility. Naming the right parties early matters because fault can be allocated to others who are not in the case.

Is there a limit on what I can recover for pain and suffering?

Tennessee generally caps noneconomic damages at $750,000, or $1 million for catastrophic losses as the statute defines them. Medical bills, lost wages, and other economic losses are not capped, and the cap does not apply in certain situations such as intentional harm or intoxication of the defendant.

What if I was hurt at an apartment complex and my landlord ignored repair requests?

Written repair requests, texts, emails, and photographs are strong evidence of notice. A landlord who was told about a broken railing, dead lighting, or a gas appliance problem and did nothing may be responsible. Keep every message.

Will my health insurance cover treatment while my claim is pending?

Often yes, and you should use it so treatment is not delayed. Your health plan, Medicare, or Medicaid may seek reimbursement from a settlement, so those liens have to be handled carefully as the case resolves. We coordinate that so it does not surprise you at the end.

How long does a premises liability case take?

It depends on your medical recovery and how hard the insurer contests liability. Some claims resolve after treatment concludes, and others require a lawsuit and trial. We do not settle until the full extent of your injuries is clear.

My family member died after a fall or an assault on someone’s property. Can we bring a claim?

Possibly. Tennessee’s wrongful death statute passes the right of action to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to a personal representative. The one-year period runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death, so do not wait.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller fall injury?

Often, yes. Falls that seem minor can lead to surgery and permanent limits, and insurers pay less to unrepresented people. With a contingency arrangement you pay no fee unless we recover, and the consultation is free, so you can find out where you stand before deciding.

Serving Collierville and Surrounding Shelby County Communities

We represent people injured in Collierville and across Shelby County, from the Town Square and the Poplar Avenue corridor to residential neighborhoods and apartment communities throughout the town. We also help clients hurt in nearby Germantown, Bartlett, Cordova, Memphis, and Lakeland, as well as visitors who were hurt on a trip and have gone home. Our reach covers the state, including Nashville, Johnson City, and East Tennessee communities such as Knoxville, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Clinton, and LaFollette, so whether the fall happened in a West Tennessee shopping center or a Smoky Mountain cabin, we can look at your case and explain your options. If your injuries make it hard to travel, we come to you.

Talk to a Collierville Premises Liability Attorney Before the Evidence Is Gone

Video gets overwritten, hazards get repaired, and Tennessee’s one-year filing deadline keeps running. A Collierville premises liability attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can send preservation demands, identify every responsible party, and build the proof of what the owner knew. Call us for a free consultation. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.