Maryville Construction Accident Lawyer

If you were hurt on a job site in Blount County, you are probably weighing a decision that has little to do with how you feel today: who gets a say in your claim, and how quickly. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that represents injured workers and families in Maryville and throughout the surrounding area. A Maryville construction accident lawyer has to look past the workers’ compensation claim and ask who else put the worker in danger.

Construction sites are crowded with companies. A general contractor, a framing subcontractor, an equipment rental yard, a crane operator, a property owner, and a delivery driver may all share one site. When a harness fails, a trench collapses, a scaffold gives way, or a truck backs over a flagger, more than one party may carry blame. Sorting out who owed what to whom is where these cases are won or lost.

Blount County keeps building. Road widening, new subdivisions, commercial development, and work tied to the traffic corridors around Maryville and Alcoa bring heavy equipment and tight schedules together with workers on foot. The injuries that follow are often falls, crush injuries, electrocutions, and head trauma.

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

Working with this firm starts with a free consultation, and if your injuries make it hard to travel, we can meet you at home or in the hospital. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. We hear from clients by phone and email as the case moves, and Spanish-speaking workers can speak with trial attorney Michael C. Beehan, who is fluent in Spanish, in their own language. Hablamos español.

The firm represents injured people across Blount County, Knox County, Sevier County, and the rest of East Tennessee, with more than 170 years of combined attorney experience and over $100 million recovered for clients. Several results speak directly to construction work. A Knox County roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed recovered $1.5 million. The family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver recovered $3.4 million.

Two of our partners spent the early years of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses. They know how a contractor’s insurer builds a defense, because they once built those defenses. Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and served on the Tennessee Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation from 2008 to 2021, which gives him unusual command of the system that runs alongside a third-party case. Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and sits on the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors, as does partner John Willis. The attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Types of Construction Accident Claims We Handle

• Falls from Heights: Roofs, scaffolds, ladders, and open floor edges produce the most serious injuries on residential and commercial sites. Failed harnesses, missing guardrails, and poorly erected scaffolding can point to an equipment maker, a subcontractor, or the property owner rather than your employer.
• Struck-By and Crush Injuries: Workers are hit by swinging loads, backing dump trucks, falling materials, and moving excavators. Equipment owners, operators, and rental companies are common targets in these claims.
• Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries: A fall or impact can end a building career. These cases require life care planning and honest projections of lost earning capacity, since a third-party claim can seek the full value of what a permanent injury takes.
• Electrocution and Burns: Contact with overhead lines, buried utilities, or faulty temporary wiring can be fatal or leave permanent damage. Utility companies, locating contractors, and equipment manufacturers may share responsibility.
• Trench and Excavation Collapses: Unshored or poorly sloped trenches can bury a worker in seconds. The contractor in control of the excavation and anyone who directed the work may be accountable.
• Work Zone Crashes: Flaggers, survey crews, and road workers are struck by drivers on Blount County roads. Because the driver is not the employer, the worker can bring a claim against that driver.
• Defective Tools and Safety Equipment: Nail guns, lifts, saws, harnesses, and hoists can fail because of a design or manufacturing defect, which can support a product claim against the maker.
• Construction Wrongful Death: When a worker dies on a site, the family may pursue a wrongful death claim against the parties other than the employer who caused the death, including lost income and funeral expenses.

What to Do After a Construction Accident in Blount County

Get medical care first, and tell the treating provider exactly how you were hurt and that it happened at work. Maryville and the surrounding area have hospital emergency departments and urgent care options, and the records they create become the first proof of what happened. Do not tough it out. Gaps in treatment are something insurers use later.

Report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing if you can. Workers’ compensation is generally the only remedy against your own employer, and it runs on its own notice rules, so do not let a deadline pass while you recover. Reporting the injury does not close the door on a separate claim against someone else.

Preserve what you can. Photograph the area, the equipment, and your injuries. Write down the names of coworkers and anyone from other companies who saw it. Keep your boots, harness, and clothing exactly as they were. Evidence on a construction site disappears fast: scaffolds get taken down, equipment is repaired or returned, and the site changes by the week. If a defective tool or harness was involved, do not let anyone discard it.

Be careful with recorded statements. An insurance adjuster, sometimes one working for a company that is not your employer, may call within days and ask questions designed to shift blame. You are not required to give a recorded statement to another party’s insurer, and speaking with a lawyer first is wise.

Mind the clock. Most Tennessee personal injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the injury. That period can extend to two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the injury, prosecution begins within that first year, and you sue that same person. Property damage claims carry a three-year limit. For wrongful death, the one-year period is measured from the date of the injury, not the date of death. If the injured person is a minor, the clock is paused until age 18. A claim against a government entity can carry its own shorter rules, so tell us right away if a city, county, or agency was involved.

Third-party lawsuits against private companies are filed in the trial courts of Tennessee. Blount County sits in the Fifth Judicial District, and a case involving parties from different states or a federal question may belong in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, whose Northern Division sits in Knoxville and covers Blount County. We evaluate which forum fits your case.

Workers’ Compensation and the Third-Party Claim

Many injured workers believe workers’ compensation is their only option. For claims against their own employer, it generally is. But our firm focuses its workplace injury practice on third-party claims, which are lawsuits against someone other than your employer whose negligence caused the injury.

The difference in what each system pays is large. Workers’ compensation covers medical care and a portion of lost wages. A third-party claim can add pain and suffering and the full value of lost earning capacity. For a worker left permanently and totally disabled, that gap can decide whether a family can stay afloat.

The two tracks have to be coordinated. The employer or its insurer generally has a right to be repaid from your third-party recovery for benefits already paid, so how a case is structured and settled affects what you actually keep. Tennessee’s reform of its workers’ compensation system for injuries on or after July 1, 2014 changed how that system operates, which is part of why the knowledge Bruce Fox gained on the state advisory council is useful.

How Fault and Damages Work in These Cases

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. You can recover as long as you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share. At 50 percent or more, recovery is barred. Defendants often argue the injured worker ignored a safety rule or misused equipment. Tennessee also allows a jury to assign fault to parties who are not in the lawsuit, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, so each defendant generally pays only its own share. That makes identifying every responsible company early a practical necessity.

Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income, are not capped. Noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for a defined catastrophic loss, such as a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia or quadriplegia or the amputation of two hands, two feet, or one of each. The cap is applied by the judge after the verdict and is not disclosed to the jury. It can be lifted in limited situations, including when the defendant was intoxicated to a degree that substantially impaired judgment or destroyed evidence. Punitive damages, where allowed, are generally limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

Maryville Construction Accident Questions Answered

Can I sue my employer for a construction injury in Tennessee?

Generally no. Workers’ compensation is usually the exclusive remedy against your own employer. But you may be able to sue other companies, such as a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or negligent driver, whose carelessness contributed to the injury.

How long do I have to file a construction accident lawsuit?

Most Tennessee injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the injury. The period can reach two years in the narrow situation where criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the harm. Workers’ compensation has separate notice rules, so act quickly on both.

What if I was partly to blame for the accident?

You can still recover if you are less than 50 percent at fault, though your compensation is reduced by your percentage. Insurers lean on this rule, so documenting site conditions and safety failures matters.

Who can be held responsible besides my employer?

Possible defendants include general contractors, other subcontractors, property owners, equipment owners and rental companies, product manufacturers, utility companies, and drivers. We examine contracts, site control, and safety records to find who owed you a duty.

Will a third-party lawsuit affect my workers’ compensation benefits?

The two run together. Your employer or its insurer generally can seek reimbursement from a third-party recovery for benefits paid. We coordinate both so you understand the net result before agreeing to any settlement.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, so there are no attorney fees in a personal injury case unless we recover compensation for you, and the first consultation is free.

My employer says it is not a construction company, only a small subcontractor. Does that matter?

Not to your right to pursue other parties. The size of your employer does not shield the general contractor, owner, or equipment maker. It can matter to which insurance policies apply, which is something we investigate early.

What happens if a family member died on a job site?

Tennessee law passes the wrongful death claim to the surviving spouse first, then to children or next of kin, or it may be brought by a personal representative. The one-year deadline runs from the date of the injury. The claim can seek lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life lost.

Do I need a lawyer if I was only slightly hurt?

Not every case does, but construction injuries often worsen over weeks, and early settlements can leave you paying for later surgery. A free consultation can tell you whether a third-party claim exists before you sign anything.

Can an undocumented or Spanish-speaking worker bring a claim?

Workers should not assume they have no options. We represent Spanish-speaking clients in their own language through trial attorney Michael C. Beehan, and we can review your situation confidentially.

Will you meet me if I cannot travel?

Yes. If your injuries make travel difficult, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

Serving Maryville and Blount County Construction Injury Clients

We represent injured workers and families in Maryville and Alcoa, and across Blount County in communities such as Friendsville, Louisville, Rockford, Walland, Townsend, and Eagleton Village. Construction crews move constantly across this region, so our work reaches well beyond county lines. We serve clients in neighboring Knox County, including Knoxville, Farragut, and Powell, and in Sevier County communities such as Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, where resort and lodging construction is steady.

We also represent people in Anderson County, Roane County, Campbell County, Claiborne County, Morgan County, Jefferson County, and Monroe County, and throughout East Tennessee and all of Tennessee, including Johnson City, Nashville, and Memphis. Wherever the job site was, our construction accident attorneys can review what happened and explain the options.

Talk to a Maryville Construction Accident Attorney Today

The evidence from a job site does not wait, and neither does Tennessee’s one-year filing deadline. If you or someone you love was hurt or killed in a construction accident, a Maryville construction accident attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can review the facts, identify every company that may be responsible, and explain how a third-party claim fits alongside workers’ compensation. Call to schedule your free consultation. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.