Knoxville Distracted Driving Lawyer

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents people in Knoxville and across East Tennessee who were hurt, or lost a family member, because another driver was looking at a screen instead of the road. Our trial lawyers handle car, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle cases, and a Knoxville distracted driving lawyer on our team can start building your claim the same week you call.

Distracted driving is one of the hardest causes of a crash to prove, because the driver rarely admits it. Nobody says “I was reading a text” to a police officer or an adjuster. The proof usually lives in places the other side controls: a phone’s records, an app’s activity log, a vehicle’s onboard data, a trucking company’s dispatch system. Some of that evidence is overwritten or deleted on a routine schedule, which makes the first weeks of a case matter more than most people realize.

Tennessee has a hands-free statute that gives injury claims a concrete legal standard to point to. Drivers cannot hold a phone, type or read messages, watch video, or record video behind the wheel. A driver who broke that rule and caused a wreck has a hard time arguing they acted like a reasonable person.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Distracted Driving Claim

Bruce D. Fox, co-founder of the firm, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. The Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association gave him its Paladin Award and, most recently, its Lifetime Achievement Award, and he is a past president of that association. For a distracted driving case, that courtroom depth matters because these claims often turn on whether a jury believes a driver’s story about what they were doing.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses before moving to the injury side. They know how a defense team evaluates a phone-use allegation, what it tries to keep out of discovery, and where its arguments tend to weaken. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and sits on the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors. John Willis also serves on that board and has tried cases from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

The firm has recovered over $100 million for clients, and our attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience. Results include $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, $2.3 million for a Knox County motorcyclist who lost his leg when a driver struck him and fled, and $1.6 million for an Anderson County man hit head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Our attorneys are also regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Injury clients pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and consultations are free. Hablamos español.

Ways Distraction Causes Wrecks Around Knoxville

• Texting and Reading Messages: The classic case. A driver glances down for a few seconds on Kingston Pike or Chapman Highway and rear-ends a car stopped at a light. Typing or reading a message while driving violates Tennessee’s hands-free statute.
• Handheld Calls and Phone Holding: State law bars holding a phone or device with any part of the body while driving. A driver pinning a phone to a shoulder or cradling it at a red light is still violating the rule.
• Video and Social Media Use: Watching, recording, or broadcasting video behind the wheel is prohibited. Distracted drivers on I-40, I-75, and the Alcoa Highway corridor can drift across lanes without braking at all.
• Reaching for a Device: The law also covers reaching for a phone in a way that takes you out of a seated, belted position. A driver lunging for a phone that slid off the seat is a common crash scenario.
• Navigation and Dashboard Screens: Tourist traffic heading toward Sevier County adds out-of-town drivers programming GPS on the move. These cases can involve apps, in-car infotainment systems, and the question of whether the driver had hands-free options available.
• Commercial Drivers on Dispatch Devices: Tractor-trailer and delivery drivers may use tablets, fleet apps, and phones for routing and messages. When a company pushes tight schedules, the employer can share responsibility alongside the driver.
• Eating, Grooming, and Passenger Distractions: Not every form of distraction is covered by the phone statute, but a driver’s attention failing for any reason can still be negligence under general Tennessee law.

What to Do After a Crash You Suspect Involved a Phone

Start with medical care. Whether you go to an emergency room in Knoxville or are transported from the scene, get checked and follow through with treatment. Injuries like concussions, whiplash, and spinal damage can surface days later, and gaps in treatment give insurers an argument that you were not really hurt.

At the scene, if you are able, photograph the vehicles, the roadway, skid marks, and traffic signals. Note anything you saw: a driver looking down, a phone in a hand, a car drifting before impact. Get names and numbers for witnesses. Ask the responding officer to document any statement the other driver makes about what they were doing. Do not argue fault at the scene and do not apologize.

Then move quickly on the clock. Most Tennessee personal injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the injury. That period can stretch to two years if the at-fault driver is criminally charged and the prosecution begins within that first year, but you cannot count on that happening. Property damage claims carry a longer three-year deadline. If the injured person was a minor at the time, the deadline generally does not start until age 18. If the crash involved a government vehicle, such as a city or county employee driving, separate rules apply and the filing window is 12 months.

Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. Adjusters may call within days, ask for a recorded statement, and steer the conversation toward your own conduct. You are not required to give one. A written preservation demand sent early, to the driver, the employer if there is one, and the insurer, can put the other side on notice that phone records, vehicle data, and company logs must be kept. Our attorneys send those requests as part of getting a case started.

In Knox County, injury lawsuits that clear the General Sessions level are filed in Knox County Circuit Court in Knoxville. Crashes involving out-of-state commercial carriers or other federal-court issues can land in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, whose Northern Division sits in Knoxville. We choose the forum based on where the strongest position lies.

Proving Distraction When the Driver Denies It

Most distracted driving cases are proven through a pattern of evidence, not one confession. Phone records can show calls, texts, and data use around the time of impact. Messaging apps and social platforms keep their own timestamps. Many modern vehicles log speed, braking, and throttle data in the seconds before a crash, which can show a driver who never touched the brakes. Traffic cameras, nearby business video, and dashcams may capture what a driver was doing, but that footage is often overwritten within days.

Getting records usually means a lawsuit. Once a case is filed, discovery tools let us demand phone records and device data, and the court can sanction a party who destroys evidence after a duty to preserve it arose. Tennessee’s damage rules also reward this effort in one specific way: the usual limit on noneconomic damages does not apply when the defendant destroyed evidence or was intoxicated enough to substantially impair judgment, so a driver who was both on a phone and impaired faces exposure beyond the normal ceiling.

Fault is the other battleground. Tennessee uses modified comparative fault, so you can recover if you were less than 50 percent responsible, and your award shrinks by your share. A driver caught using a phone will often claim you stopped suddenly or changed lanes. A careful reconstruction, witness accounts, and vehicle data answer that. Tennessee also allows fault to be assigned to people who are not even in the lawsuit, so we identify every responsible party early, including employers whose drivers were on the job.

What Compensation Can Cover

Economic damages, meaning medical bills, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and out-of-pocket costs, are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for a defined catastrophic injury such as paraplegia or quadriplegia, amputation of two limbs, or severe burns, and in wrongful death cases involving a parent of minor children. A jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it afterward.

Minimum liability insurance in Tennessee is modest, so a serious crash can quickly exceed what the at-fault driver carries. That is why we look at your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, employer policies when a driver was working, and any other source of recovery. If a phone-distracted driver killed a family member, the wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving spouse first, then children or next of kin, and the one-year clock runs from the date of the crash, not the date of death.

Distracted Driving Questions Knoxville Drivers Ask

Is using a phone while driving illegal in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee’s Hands Free law prohibits holding a phone or device, reading or sending text-based messages, watching video, and recording or broadcasting video while driving. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor. Emergency calls to police, medical providers, or fire departments are an exception.

Does a traffic ticket for phone use prove the other driver was at fault?

Not automatically, but it helps. A citation shows an officer believed the driver was breaking the hands-free rule, and a driver who violates a safety statute has trouble arguing they were careful. We still build the case with independent evidence rather than relying on the ticket alone.

How do you prove the other driver was on their phone?

Through phone carrier records, app data, vehicle event data, witness statements, and surveillance or dashcam video. Because much of this requires a lawsuit to obtain, we move quickly to send preservation demands and file when needed.

How long do I have to file a distracted driving lawsuit?

Generally one year from the date of the crash. The period can extend to two years if the driver is criminally charged within that first year and you sue that driver. Property damage has three years. Do not wait to find out which rule applies to you.

What if I was partly to blame for the wreck?

You can still recover as long as you were under 50 percent at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your share. Insurers lean on this rule, so evidence that shows what the other driver was actually doing is valuable.

What if the driver who hit me was working at the time?

Then the employer may be responsible too, and its insurance may be far larger than a personal auto policy. We look at delivery companies, contractors, and trucking carriers, and we seek logs, dispatch messages, and company phone policies.

Can a distracted driver be punished criminally and sued civilly?

Yes, the two cases are separate. A criminal conviction is not required to win an injury claim, though criminal charges can extend your filing deadline in some circumstances.

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

Often, yes. Some injuries, including concussions and soft-tissue damage, worsen over time, and early settlement offers rarely account for that. Because we work on contingency and consultations are free, you can find out where you stand without cost.

What if I live out of state but was hurt in a Knoxville crash?

We handle the investigation, negotiations, and court filings here while you recover at home, and we keep you informed by phone and email.

Can you meet me if I cannot travel after the crash?

Yes. If your injuries make it hard to come to us, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

Do I have to give the other driver’s insurance company a recorded statement?

No. You can decline and have your attorney communicate with the insurer. Statements given early, before you know the full extent of your injuries, are often used to limit what a claim is worth.

Serving Distracted Driving Clients Across Knoxville and East Tennessee

From downtown Knoxville and the Old City through Fort Sanders, Bearden, and West Knoxville, we represent people hurt on the region’s busiest corridors. We also serve clients in Farragut, Powell, Halls, Karns, Fountain City, South Knoxville, Sequoyah Hills, and Cedar Bluff, along with the rest of Knox County.

Our work extends into neighboring counties as well. We represent families in Maryville and the rest of Blount County, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg in Sevier County, and Clinton and the surrounding Anderson County communities. We also help clients in LaFollette and Campbell County, Roane County, Claiborne County, Morgan County, Jefferson County, and Monroe County, and we represent injured people from Johnson City to Nashville and Memphis and throughout Tennessee.

Talk With a Knoxville Distracted Driving Attorney

If a phone-distracted driver changed your life or took someone you love, a conversation with a Knoxville distracted driving attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette costs nothing and puts the clock to work for you instead of against you. The sooner we know about your crash, the sooner we can lock down the records that prove what the other driver was doing. Call to schedule your free consultation.