Brentwood Truck Accident Lawyer

When a tractor-trailer crash upends your life, the goal is simple: medical bills covered, income replaced, and the company behind the truck held to account. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that handles truck and commercial vehicle crashes, wrongful death claims, and other serious injury cases, and it represents injured people across Tennessee, including families hurt in and around Brentwood. If you need a Brentwood truck accident lawyer, our team investigates what happened, identifies everyone responsible, and presses for full compensation.

Brentwood sits in Williamson County, just south of Nashville, and freight moves through it constantly. Interstate 65 and Interstate 840 carry heavy truck traffic past the city, and Franklin Road, Old Hickory Boulevard, and Concord Road see delivery vans, box trucks, and construction vehicles every day. A crash with an eighteen-wheeler or a loaded work truck is nothing like a fender bender. The size and weight difference produces catastrophic injuries: brain trauma, spinal cord damage, amputations, and deaths.

Trucking cases also differ from ordinary car wrecks in who can be responsible. The driver is only the start. The trucking company, the party that loaded the cargo, a maintenance contractor, or a parts manufacturer may share blame, and each may have its own insurer and its own lawyers.

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

Our results in commercial vehicle cases speak to the work we do. The firm recovered $2.3 million for a Knox County motorcyclist who lost his leg after a driver struck him and fled, and $1.9 million for the family of a mother killed on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevier County by a driver who failed to yield. We also recovered $1.5 million for a Knox County roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case, but they show the kind of serious injury and wrongful death claims we take on.

The firm has represented injured people and their families for years, and our attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience and over $100 million recovered for clients. Two of our partners earlier defended insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how carriers value and fight these claims. That perspective matters when a trucking insurer builds its defense.

Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials, has been selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers 17 times, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on the association’s Board of Governors, as does partner John Willis. Our attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish, and hablamos español.

There are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you, and every consultation is free. If your injuries keep you from traveling, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

Where Truck Crash Claims Come From Around Brentwood

• Tractor-Trailer Collisions on the Interstates: Rear-end impacts in slowed traffic, jackknifes, and wide-turn crashes on I-65 and I-840 often involve fatigued drivers or brakes that were not properly maintained.
• Delivery and Box Truck Crashes: Residential and retail growth means constant parcel and freight deliveries on Franklin Road and surrounding streets, where rushed drivers and tight schedules lead to preventable wrecks.
• Construction and Work Truck Accidents: Development around Williamson County brings dump trucks, concrete mixers, and company pickups onto crowded roads, sometimes with unsecured loads or poorly trained drivers.
• Underride and Rear-Impact Crashes: Smaller vehicles that slide beneath a trailer can suffer devastating head and neck injuries, and missing or damaged rear guards become part of the liability picture.
• Wrongful Death After a Truck Crash: Families may pursue lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life taken. In Tennessee, the right to sue passes first to a surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or to a personal representative.
• Catastrophic Injuries: Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and amputations require long-term care planning, and the lifetime cost of that care drives how a claim must be valued.
• Cargo and Loading Failures: Overloaded, shifted, or improperly secured freight can cause rollovers or spill onto the roadway, which can bring shippers and loaders into the case.

What to Do After a Truck Crash Near Brentwood

Get medical care first, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks serious injuries, and the records from that first visit become the foundation of your claim. Call 911 so police respond and a report is made. Photograph the vehicles, the road, skid marks, and any visible damage to the truck, and write down the company name and USDOT number on the cab door if you can.

Then act quickly on evidence. Trucking companies hold driver logs, hours-of-service records, maintenance files, dispatch messages, and electronic data that can be overwritten or discarded. A prompt preservation demand puts the company on notice that it must keep them. This is the reason a call to a lawyer in the first days matters more in a truck case than almost any other.

Be careful with the insurance company. Adjusters for trucking carriers move fast, and they may ask you to give a recorded statement or sign a medical release. You are not required to do either, and an offhand comment can be used to shift blame to you. Let your attorney handle those conversations.

Watch the calendar. Most Tennessee personal injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the crash, and for a death, the one-year period runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. The period can extend to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the harm, but only if the prosecution begins within a year of the injury and you sue that same person. Property damage claims have a three-year deadline. If a minor was hurt, the clock is generally paused until the child turns 18. If a government vehicle was involved, the Governmental Tort Liability Act requires suit within 12 months and caps damages at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence.

Williamson County cases are generally heard in the state trial courts for the county, and a claim with the right facts can also land in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville. We evaluate which forum fits your case.

How Fault and Damages Work in Tennessee Truck Cases

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. You can recover if you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your percentage. At 50 percent or more, you are barred. Trucking defendants know this, so expect them to argue you braked suddenly, merged poorly, or were distracted. Tennessee also allows fault to be assigned to nonparties, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, which makes identifying every responsible party important from the outset.

Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost wages, are not capped. Noneconomic damages like pain and suffering are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputation of both hands, both feet, or one of each, severe burns over 40 percent of the body or face, or the wrongful death of a parent of minor children. The jury is not told about the cap; the court applies it afterward. Those limits are lifted in specific situations, including when the defendant was impaired by alcohol or drugs or intentionally caused the harm. Punitive damages are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Insurance matters too. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage for ordinary drivers is low, but commercial carriers typically carry far more. Finding every available policy is part of how a truck accident attorney builds the recovery.

Brentwood Truck Accident FAQs

How long do I have to file a truck accident lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the crash. Some situations extend the deadline, such as criminal charges against the at-fault driver or an injured minor, but you should not count on an exception.

Who can be held responsible for a truck crash?

The driver, the trucking company, a cargo loader or shipper, a maintenance provider, or a parts manufacturer may each bear responsibility depending on the evidence. Identifying all of them is often what unlocks adequate insurance coverage.

What evidence is most important in a trucking case?

Driver logs, hours-of-service records, maintenance and inspection files, dispatch communications, and electronic data from the truck. This material can vanish, so a preservation demand should go out early.

What if I was partly at fault?

You can still recover if you are under 50 percent responsible, with your award reduced by your share. Insurers push blame onto injured people, so a careful investigation matters.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We are paid only if we recover compensation, and the first consultation is free.

My family member died in a truck crash. Who can file?

The surviving spouse or the personal representative may bring the action, and if there is no spouse, the children or next of kin. A spouse’s right can be lost if the family shows the spouse abandoned the deceased or willfully withdrew for two years.

Is there a limit on what I can recover?

Medical bills and lost income are not capped. Pain and suffering are generally limited, with a higher ceiling for catastrophic injuries, and the limits fall away in cases such as an impaired driver.

Will my health insurance pay for treatment while my claim is pending?

Often yes, and many people use their own coverage to keep treating. Health insurers may seek reimbursement from a recovery, so we plan for that early.

The truck driver was working for a company. Can I sue the company too?

Frequently, yes. Employers can be liable for a driver’s negligence on the job and for their own failures, such as poor hiring, training, or maintenance.

Should I hire a lawyer if my injuries seem minor?

A call is worth it. Injuries from a crash with a heavy truck can surface days later, and early statements to an adjuster can limit your options.

Does a hands-free law violation help my case?

It can. Tennessee prohibits holding a phone while driving, reading or sending texts, or watching video, and proof a truck driver was on a device can be strong evidence of negligence.

Do I need to travel if I live outside Tennessee?

No. We handle the investigation, negotiations, and filings here and keep you informed wherever you live.

Serving Brentwood and Williamson County Truck Crash Clients

We represent injured people from Brentwood and the neighboring Williamson County communities of Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, and Thompson’s Station, and across the Nashville area. Our work reaches throughout Tennessee, from Memphis and Nashville to Johnson City and the East Tennessee communities of Knoxville, Clinton, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and LaFollette. We also serve families in Knox, Sevier, Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties. Wherever the crash happened, we can review your case and explain your options.

Talk to a Brentwood Truck Accident Attorney Today

The sooner a Brentwood truck accident attorney starts, the better the chance that critical evidence is preserved and your claim is built on solid ground. Call Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we recover compensation, and we can come to you if you are recovering at home or in the hospital.