I-155 Accident Lawyer

An interstate crash is rarely just a car-versus-car dispute, and I-155 is a good example of why. I-155 is a short connector route in Tennessee, but crashes on or near highways like it tend to involve high speeds, commercial traffic, multiple vehicles, and several insurance policies at once. I-155 accident lawyer searches usually come from people who have already learned that the other driver’s insurer is moving faster than they are. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury law firm that represents people hurt in car wrecks, tractor-trailer crashes, motorcycle and pedestrian collisions, and wrongful death cases throughout East Tennessee and across the state.

The reasons these cases get complicated are practical. Highway crashes often leave more than one possible defendant: a driver who was distracted or impaired, a trucking company that pushed a schedule, a contractor who left a work zone poorly marked, or a vehicle maker whose equipment failed. Each one has its own insurer, its own lawyers, and its own version of what happened. Evidence that settles the question, such as a truck’s electronic data, a driver’s logs, or phone records, does not stay available forever.

Common Types of I-155 and Interstate Crash Cases

• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Crashes: Interstate corridors carry heavy freight traffic, and a collision with a loaded truck often means catastrophic injuries. Driver logs, maintenance records, and electronic data can be lost if nobody sends a preservation demand early, and the carrier, the driver, and sometimes a cargo loader may all share responsibility.
• Distracted-Driving Collisions: Tennessee’s Hands Free law makes it illegal to hold a phone, read or send texts, or watch video while driving. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor, and phone records can show whether the other driver was on a device at the moment of impact.
• Drunk or Impaired Driver Wrecks: When a driver was intoxicated, the case changes in more ways than one. Tennessee’s per se alcohol limit is 0.08 percent, and impairment can also lift the statutory ceiling on noneconomic damages.
• Rear-End and Chain-Reaction Crashes: Stop-and-go congestion and sudden slowdowns near ramps and construction zones produce multi-vehicle pileups where fault gets split among several drivers. Our 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.
• Head-On and Wrong-Way Collisions: These crashes frequently cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and death. A head-on crash with a commercial delivery truck in Anderson County led to a $1.6 million recovery for our client.
• Motorcycle and Pedestrian Cases: Riders and people on foot near interchanges have almost no protection. A Knox County motorcyclist who lost his leg after a driver hit him and fled received $2.3 million through our firm.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is modest, and a serious interstate injury can exceed it quickly. Your own policy’s uninsured and underinsured coverage may be the remaining source of recovery.
• Wrongful Death: When a crash kills someone, the claim passes to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or may be brought by a personal representative. Families can pursue lost income, medical and funeral costs, and the value of the life lost.

Why Families Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette After a Highway Crash

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette has represented injured people and their families across Tennessee, and its attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience to cases like these. The firm has recovered over $100 million for clients, and it serves communities throughout Knox, Sevier, Anderson, Blount, Campbell, and Roane counties as well as the rest of the state. Clients pay no attorney fees unless the firm recovers compensation, consultations are free, and attorneys can meet with clients at home or in the hospital when injuries make travel hard. Hablamos español.

For highway crash work, several credentials matter more than others. 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 is a past president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, which honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025 and its Paladin Award in 2011. He has also been selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers 17 times and named a CityView Top Attorney every year. Partner Brad C. Burnette carries an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and Partner John Willis has tried cases from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

Two of the firm’s partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses. That matters in a crash case because they know how adjusters value claims, how defense teams build comparative-fault arguments, and which early documents tend to decide a case. The firm’s results include a $1.9 million recovery for a Sevier County family after a mother was killed and her daughter seriously hurt by a driver who failed to yield, and a $1.5 million recovery for a roofer with a traumatic brain injury. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.

How Fault, Damage Caps, and Insurance Limits Shape an Interstate Crash Claim

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. You can recover only if you are less than 50 percent responsible, and your award is reduced by your own percentage. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred. Tennessee has also abolished joint and several liability in most negligence cases, and a jury can assign fault to people who are not even parties to the lawsuit. In a multi-vehicle highway crash, that means every defendant has an incentive to point at someone else, and an empty-chair argument can shrink what you collect. Reconstructing speeds, lane positions, and braking from vehicle data and scene evidence is how those arguments get answered.

Damages come in two kinds. Economic losses such as medical bills, rehabilitation, and lost earnings carry no statutory cap in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages, meaning pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, are generally limited to $750,000. The limit rises to $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss, which includes spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia, amputation of two hands, two feet, or one of each, third-degree burns over 40 percent of the body or face, and the wrongful death of a parent of minor children. The jury never hears about the cap; the court applies it afterward, and a jury decides by special verdict whether a catastrophic loss exists. The caps lift entirely when the defendant intentionally caused the harm, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony. Punitive damages, where available, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Insurance limits are the other practical ceiling. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage, or alternatively a $65,000 single-limit policy. A serious interstate injury can blow past those numbers, which is why identifying a commercial defendant with larger coverage, or pursuing your own uninsured motorist benefits, can decide how much a family actually receives.

What to Do After a Crash on I-155 or a Nearby Interstate

Get medical care first, and keep going to every appointment. Interstate crashes often produce injuries that surface days later, including concussions, disc damage, and internal injuries, and gaps in treatment give insurers an argument that something else caused your condition. Report the crash to law enforcement so an official report exists, and ask for the report number. If a fatal crash involved a driver suspected of impairment, Tennessee law directs investigating officers to look into where the driver was served alcohol and to notify the Alcoholic Beverage Commission within 48 hours, which can open the door to additional evidence.

At the scene, if you are able, photograph the vehicles, the lanes, skid marks, debris, signage, and any construction zone. Get names and contact details for witnesses, and note the carrier name and DOT number on any commercial truck. Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer, and do not sign a medical release that lets an adjuster dig through your entire history. Say little about fault, and never guess at your own speed or injuries.

The deadline is the part that catches people. A Tennessee personal injury lawsuit generally has to be filed within one year of the injury under Tenn. Code Ann. 28-3-104. That period can stretch to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the harm, the prosecution starts within that first year, and you sue the person who was prosecuted. Property damage claims have three years. A wrongful death claim has no separate statute; the one-year clock runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. If the injured person is under 18, the clock is paused until the 18th birthday. Claims against a government entity under the Governmental Tort Liability Act must be filed within 12 months, with damages limited to $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence.

Where a lawsuit lands depends on who you sue and where. State-court crash cases are filed in the circuit court of the county involved; Knox County, for example, sits in the Sixth Judicial District, and Anderson, Blount, and Sevier counties have their own district assignments. Cases involving out-of-state trucking companies can end up in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, whose Northern Division sits in Knoxville. Minor-damage disputes may begin in General Sessions Court, whose civil jurisdiction is limited by dollar amount and varies by county. We will tell you which court fits your case, and we can handle the filing while you recover at home.

Frequently Asked Questions About I-155 Accident Claims

How long do I have to sue after an I-155 crash?

Generally one year from the date you were hurt. That window is among the shortest in the country, so waiting to see how you feel can cost you the claim. Exceptions exist, such as the two-year period when the at-fault driver is criminally prosecuted within the first year, but you should not count on one applying.

What if the other driver was partly to blame and I was too?

You can still recover if your share of fault is under 50 percent, and the other side’s insurer will often try to push you closer to that line. Photos, vehicle data, witness accounts, and a reconstruction can move the percentages back in your favor.

Who can be held responsible when a semi-truck causes the wreck?

Possibly the driver, the trucking company, a freight broker, a cargo loader, a maintenance contractor, or a parts manufacturer. Logs, inspection history, and onboard electronic data tell us which of them mattered, which is why prompt preservation letters are important.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injuries seem moderate?

Often yes. Moderate injuries can turn into surgery, months of therapy, or permanent restrictions, and early settlement offers rarely account for that. Since you pay nothing unless we recover compensation, a free consultation costs you only the time to ask.

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

You can use your health insurance to keep treatment going, and many people do. The insurer may later seek reimbursement from your recovery, so those liens need to be tracked and negotiated as part of the case rather than ignored.

What does Tennessee’s cap on noneconomic damages mean for me?

It limits compensation for pain and suffering to $750,000 in most cases, or $1 million for catastrophic losses as the statute defines them. It does not limit medical bills, lost wages, or other economic losses, and it does not apply when the defendant was intoxicated or committed certain other defined misconduct.

What if the at-fault driver has only minimum insurance?

Minimum coverage in Tennessee is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury. If your damages are larger, we look at your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, any employer or commercial policy tied to the driver, and other responsible parties.

My family member died in the crash. Who can bring the claim?

The right of action passes to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or it can be brought by a personal representative. A spouse’s right can be lost if the children or next of kin establish that the spouse abandoned the deceased or willfully withdrew for two years. The one-year deadline starts on the date of the crash.

Can I recover if the driver who hit me was texting?

Texting while driving violates the Hands Free law, and a violation supports a negligence argument. We pursue phone records to show use at the time of the collision. Proving it is a separate task from the traffic citation, so the claim does not depend on whether a ticket was written.

I live out of state and was hurt while traveling through Tennessee. Do I have to come back?

Not for most of the case. We handle the investigation, the insurance negotiations, and the filings in Tennessee, and we keep you updated by phone and email wherever you live. If you are hurt badly, we can come to you at home or in the hospital.

What happens if the crash happened in a construction zone?

Liability may reach beyond the other driver to a contractor whose signage, lane closures, or barriers were inadequate. If a government entity is involved, a much shorter filing period and lower damage limits can apply, which makes early review essential.

How long does a highway crash case take?

It depends on how serious your injuries are and whether the defendants dispute fault. We generally want you to finish the bulk of treatment, or at least understand your long-term outlook, before settling, because a claim closed too early cannot be reopened.

Serving I-155 Crash Victims Across East Tennessee and Beyond

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents injured people throughout the region, beginning with Knox County and the communities around Knoxville. We also serve families in Anderson County, including Clinton, and in Blount County, including Maryville. In Sevier County, our clients come from Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, and in Campbell County, from LaFollette. We have also represented people from Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties, and clients from Johnson City, Nashville, Memphis, and the small towns in between. Because interstate crashes pull in drivers and trucking companies from every direction, we take cases from across Tennessee, and out-of-state visitors who were hurt here are welcome too.

Talk With an I-155 Accident Attorney Before the Evidence Disappears

If you were hurt in a crash on I-155 or a connecting interstate, speak with an I-155 accident attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette soon. The one-year filing period is already running, and trucking and vehicle data can be overwritten or discarded within weeks. Call us for a free consultation; there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you, and we can meet you at home or in the hospital if you cannot travel.