Jackson Pedestrian Accident Lawyer

Getting hit while walking should end with your medical bills paid, your lost income replaced, and the driver’s insurer held to what the injury is actually worth. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that represents pedestrians and their families, and a Jackson pedestrian accident lawyer from our team can work to get you to that result whether you were hit in a crosswalk, a parking lot, or along a rural highway.

Pedestrian cases are different from ordinary fender-benders because the injured person has no steel frame around them. Broken pelvises, shattered legs, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal damage are common outcomes, and recovery can stretch over months or years. Insurers know this, and they tend to look for a reason to say the walker was somewhere they should not have been, was not paying attention, or crossed at the wrong spot.

We handle pedestrian claims across Tennessee, and we also represent families when a pedestrian crash ends in a death. What follows covers how these cases are built, what Tennessee law says about fault and damages, and what you should do in the days after a crash.

Pedestrian Crash Situations We Handle

• Crosswalk and Intersection Strikes: Drivers turning left or right while looking at oncoming traffic instead of the walk signal hit people who had the right of way. Failure to yield is the heart of many of these claims, and traffic signal timing and nearby camera footage can matter.
• Parking Lot and Driveway Collisions: Backing vehicles at shopping centers, grocery stores, and apartment complexes injure people who are hard to see behind or beside a vehicle. Liability can reach the driver and sometimes the property owner if lighting or layout created the hazard.
• Distracted Driver Crashes: Tennessee’s Hands Free law bars drivers from holding a phone, reading or sending text-based messages, or watching video while driving. Phone records and the officer’s report can show whether a driver was breaking that law at the moment of impact.
• Impaired Driver Crashes: The per se alcohol limit for drivers is 0.08%, though a driver can be impaired below that number, and there is no set per se limit for prescription drugs. Intoxication matters to your claim beyond fault, because it can remove the state’s cap on noneconomic damages.
• Hit-and-Run Cases: When a driver flees, recovery often runs through your own uninsured motorist coverage, which makes the notice and documentation steps especially important. We handled a Knox County case in which a motorcyclist lost his leg after a driver struck him and fled, and it resulted in a $2.3 million recovery.
• Dark Road and Rural Highway Accidents: Walkers on unlit roads without sidewalks are often blamed for being there at all. A thorough investigation looks at driver speed, headlight use, visibility, and whether the driver could have stopped in time.
• Commercial Vehicle and Delivery Truck Strikes: Trucks and delivery vans have large blind spots, and the company behind the driver may share responsibility through hiring, training, scheduling, or maintenance failures.
• Wrongful Death After a Pedestrian Crash: When a pedestrian dies, Tennessee law passes the right to sue to the surviving spouse first, then to the children or next of kin, or to a personal representative.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Pedestrian Injury Case

Day to day, working with us means you are not chasing anyone down. We handle the investigation, the paperwork, and the calls from adjusters, and if you cannot travel because of your injuries, we can meet you at home or in the hospital. Consultations are free, and there are no attorney fees in a personal injury case unless we recover compensation for you. We also speak Spanish, and trial attorney Michael C. Beehan represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how adjusters size up a pedestrian claim and where defense lawyers look for weak points. That inside knowledge matters when an insurer tries to turn a crosswalk case into an argument about what the injured person should have done differently.

Our lawyers have recovered over $100 million for clients and bring more than 170 years of combined experience to serious injury and wrongful death cases. The results most relevant to pedestrian work include $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, $1.9 million after a Sevier County driver who failed to yield killed a mother and seriously injured her daughter, and $1.6 million for an Anderson County man struck head-on by a commercial delivery truck. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.

Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a past president of that association. 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, a past president of the Anderson County Bar Association. Our attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine. When an insurer will not pay what a case is worth, we are prepared to put it in front of a jury.

What to Do After Being Hit as a Pedestrian

Get medical care first, even if you feel fairly steady. Adrenaline hides concussions, internal bleeding, and fractures, and a gap between the crash and your first medical visit gives an insurer room to argue your injuries came from something else. Follow every referral and keep every appointment, because gaps in treatment get used against you later.

If you are able, or if someone with you can do it, call the police so a report is filed, and ask the responding officer for the report number. Photograph the scene, the vehicle, the driver’s plate, your injuries, skid marks, signals, and any crosswalk markings. Get names and numbers from witnesses before they leave. Look up and around for cameras on storefronts, traffic poles, and buses, because that footage is often overwritten within days or weeks.

Be careful with the other driver’s insurance company. Adjusters often call within a day or two and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one to the at-fault driver’s insurer, and casual remarks like “I did not see the car” can be quoted back at you. Do not sign a medical authorization that opens your entire history, and do not accept a quick check before you know the full extent of your injuries.

The clock matters more than most people expect. Tennessee’s deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit is one year from the date of the injury, one of the shortest in the country. The period can stretch to two years when criminal charges are brought against the driver, the prosecution begins within that first year, and you sue the person who was charged. A property damage claim has a three-year window, but do not let that longer deadline lull you on the injury claim. If a city or county vehicle or employee was involved, a Governmental Tort Liability Act claim must be filed within 12 months. If the injured person was a child under 18 at the time, the one-year clock is paused until the child turns 18. Lawsuits for these claims are generally filed in the circuit court of the county where the case belongs, and if the defendants are in different states, federal court may come into play.

Because the deadlines are short and evidence disappears, call a lawyer early. We can send preservation letters, collect video, and track down the driver’s insurance before the trail goes cold.

How Fault and Damages Work in a Tennessee Pedestrian Claim

Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule. You can recover as long as you are less than 50 percent responsible for the crash, and your award is reduced by your percentage. If a jury puts you at 50 percent or more, you recover nothing. That is why insurers push the narrative that a pedestrian crossed mid-block, wore dark clothing, or looked at a phone. Even a modest shift in the fault percentage can change the outcome, so evidence about the driver’s speed, attention, and ability to see you carries real weight. Tennessee also lets fault be assigned to people who are not parties to the lawsuit, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, so identifying every responsible party early matters.

Economic damages, such as medical bills, rehabilitation, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity, are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages, which compensate for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for a defined catastrophic injury or loss. Catastrophic categories include a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia or quadriplegia, the loss of two hands, two feet, or one of each, severe burns over a large part of the body or face, and the wrongful death of a parent who leaves minor children. The jury decides by special verdict whether a catastrophic loss exists, and the cap is applied by the judge after the verdict rather than disclosed to jurors. The caps are lifted in certain situations, including when the defendant intended the injury, was intoxicated to the point of substantially impaired judgment, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a felony tied to the conduct. Punitive damages are separate and are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Insurance limits shape what is realistically collectible. Tennessee requires drivers to carry only 25/50/25 liability coverage, meaning $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage. A serious pedestrian injury can exceed that quickly, which is why we look at your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, an employer’s policy if the driver was on the job, and other responsible parties.

Common Questions About Pedestrian Accident Claims

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

The general deadline is one year from the date of the injury. It can extend to two years if the driver is criminally charged within that first year and you sue the person who was prosecuted. Claims against a city or county fall under a separate 12-month rule.

What if I was not in a crosswalk?

You can still have a claim. Crossing outside a crosswalk may give the insurer an argument about your share of fault, but drivers still must use reasonable care, keep a proper lookout, and avoid hitting people they could have seen. Your claim survives as long as you are found less than 50 percent at fault.

Can I recover if I was partly to blame?

Yes, within limits. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you recover nothing if you are 50 percent or more responsible. Early evidence gathering helps keep that percentage low.

What if the driver ran and was never found?

Your uninsured motorist coverage may respond, which is why you should report the crash to the police and notify your own insurer promptly. We can also pursue leads like surveillance video, witness accounts, and vehicle debris left at the scene.

Who pays my medical bills while the claim is pending?

Usually your own health insurance, or medical payments coverage on your auto policy if you have it. Health insurers and some other payers may claim reimbursement from your recovery, so we deal with those liens as part of resolving the case.

Do I need a lawyer if the injuries seem minor?

It is worth a free consultation. Soft-tissue injuries and concussions can worsen over days or weeks, and a quick settlement signed too early usually closes the door on future costs. A consultation costs nothing, and we only collect a fee if we recover for you.

Can I still bring a claim if my child was the pedestrian hit?

Yes. When the injured person is under 18, the filing deadline does not begin running until the child turns 18. Even so, evidence is easiest to collect early, so we recommend acting soon.

What does a pedestrian wrongful death claim involve?

The right to sue passes first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to a personal representative. The one-year deadline runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death, so a person who dies weeks later still counts from the crash date. Recoverable losses include lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life taken.

Does it matter if the driver was texting?

It can matter a great deal. Tennessee’s Hands Free law prohibits holding a phone or reading or sending text-based messages while driving. A violation supports a negligence argument, and phone records can show what the driver was doing at the time of impact.

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

Minimum coverage often falls far short of a serious pedestrian injury. We look at your own underinsured motorist coverage, whether the driver was working at the time, whether a business or vehicle owner shares responsibility, and whether the driver’s own assets are worth pursuing.

How long does a pedestrian injury case take?

It depends on how long your treatment runs and whether the insurer negotiates in good faith. We generally want you to reach a stable point in your recovery before settling, so the full cost of your injuries is known. Cases that cannot be resolved are filed in court and can take longer.

Serving Pedestrian Injury Clients Around Jackson and Across Tennessee

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents injured pedestrians throughout Tennessee, including Jackson and the surrounding West Tennessee communities, and clients from every corner of the state. We also regularly handle cases from Memphis and Nashville, and we have worked with families from Johnson City to the Mississippi River.

Our work reaches across East Tennessee as well. We serve people in Knoxville and Knox County, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge in Sevier County, Maryville and Blount County, Clinton and Anderson County, and LaFollette and Campbell County. We have also represented people from Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties. Wherever you live, we can review your case by phone, and when your injuries make travel hard, we come to you.

Talk With a Jackson Pedestrian Accident Attorney

If you or someone in your family was hit while walking, the one-year deadline and the disappearing evidence mean the best time to talk to a Jackson pedestrian accident attorney is now. Call Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a free consultation. There are no fees unless we recover compensation for you, and we can meet you at home or in the hospital if you cannot come to us.