Memphis Personal Injury Lawyer

The goal after a serious crash or fall is simple to state and hard to reach: your medical bills paid, your lost income replaced, and an insurance company held to what your claim is actually worth. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that helps hurt people and their families pursue that result, and if you are searching for a Memphis personal injury lawyer, we represent clients in Memphis and throughout Shelby County, across West Tennessee, and in every part of the state.

Memphis cases tend to be shaped by a few realities. This is a freight crossroads, with interstates, rail yards, and distribution centers sending heavy commercial traffic through the city every hour. It is also a major visitor destination, so many injured people are tourists who live somewhere else entirely. And Tennessee gives injured people very little time to act, which means the decisions you make in the first weeks matter more than most people expect.

Common Memphis Injury Cases We Handle

• Car and Motorcycle Crashes: Distracted, drunk, and reckless drivers cause most of the serious wrecks we see, along with motorcycle, pedestrian, and bicycle collisions. Tennessee’s Hands Free law bars holding a phone while driving, and a driver who was texting or scrolling gives a claim a clear point of proof.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Collisions: Memphis sits on heavy freight corridors, and crashes involving big rigs and delivery trucks often leave catastrophic injuries. Driver logs, maintenance records, and electronic data can vanish quickly unless someone moves to preserve them.
• Wrongful Death: When a crash or other negligent act takes a life, the family may pursue lost income, medical and funeral expenses, and the value of the life that was lost. Tennessee law decides who can bring the claim, starting with the surviving spouse and then children or next of kin.
• Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries: These injuries change how a person works, parents, and lives day to day. Long-term care costs are often the largest part of the claim and need to be documented carefully.
• Slip and Fall and Premises Liability: Wet floors, broken pavement, poor lighting, and unsafe stairs at stores, restaurants, hotels, parking lots, and rental properties can lead to broken hips, shoulder surgeries, and head injuries.
• Visitor Injuries: People who come to Memphis for a weekend at Graceland or a night downtown can be hurt far from home. We help out-of-state visitors without requiring them to return for every step.
• Hot Tub, Spa, and Carbon Monoxide Injuries: Hotel and rental properties can hide bacterial contamination, drain entrapment, electrical faults, and faulty gas appliances that sicken or kill guests.
• Workplace Third-Party Claims: When someone other than your employer, such as a negligent driver or an equipment maker, causes a workplace injury, you may have a claim that workers’ compensation does not cover.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for Your Memphis Injury Case

Our track record in serious cases is the best place to start. Our attorneys have recovered over $100 million for clients, including $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, $2.3 million for a motorcyclist who lost his leg when a driver struck him and fled, and $1.6 million for a man hit head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work. We also recovered $1.5 million for a roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, but they show the kind of cases we are built to handle.

The firm brings more than 170 years of combined attorney experience to injury cases, and two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses. That means they have seen from the inside how claims are valued and how defenses are built. Co-founder Bruce D. Fox has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, is a past president of that association, and belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates. 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.

Injury clients pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and every consultation is free. If your injuries make travel difficult, we can meet you at home or in the hospital. Hablamos español, and trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish.

What Tennessee Law Means for the Value of a Memphis Claim

Several Tennessee rules shape what a case is worth, and knowing them early helps you avoid being talked into a bad settlement.

First, fault is shared. Tennessee follows modified comparative fault, so you can recover as long as you are less than 50 percent responsible, and your award is reduced by your share. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred. Insurers know this and often work to push blame onto the injured person, so how the investigation frames fault can decide the case. Tennessee also allows fault to be assigned to people who are not even in the lawsuit, and it has largely done away with joint and several liability, so identifying every responsible party matters.

Second, damages come in two kinds. Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost earnings, are not capped. Noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for a defined catastrophic injury or loss. Catastrophic categories include paraplegia or quadriplegia from spinal cord injury, amputation 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 with minor children. The jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it afterward. The cap does not apply when the defendant intended the injury, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony. Punitive damages, when available, are limited to the greater of twice the compensatory award or $500,000.

Third, the other driver’s insurance may be thin. Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, with $25,000 for property damage. A serious injury can exceed those limits quickly, which is why uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy, and the search for other responsible parties like an employer or a vehicle owner, can matter a great deal.

What to Do After an Injury in Memphis

Get medical care first, even if you feel mostly fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap between the incident and your first treatment gives an insurer something to argue about. If you were in a crash, call the police so a report is made, and ask the responding officer how to obtain it. Photograph the scene, the vehicles, the hazard that caused your fall, and your injuries while they are visible, and collect names and contact information for witnesses.

Be careful with the other side’s insurance adjuster. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and early comments about how you feel or what happened can be used to cut your claim. The same goes for social media; posts about activities or the incident can be pulled out of context. Keep every medical record, bill, and pay stub, and keep a short log of how the injury affects your days.

Then watch the calendar. Most Tennessee injury lawsuits must be filed within one year of the injury, one of the shortest deadlines in the country. If criminal charges are brought against the person who hurt you and the prosecution begins within that first year, the deadline can stretch to two years, but you should not count on it. Property damage claims have a three-year deadline. Wrongful death claims follow the one-year clock, and it runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. If the injured person was a child, the clock is paused until the child turns 18. Claims against a government body, such as a city vehicle or a public property hazard, fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, which requires a suit within 12 months and caps damages at $300,000 per person and $1 million per occurrence. Health care liability claims have their own one-year deadline and a three-year outer limit.

Cases filed in Shelby County are heard in the circuit court for the county, and some cases involving out-of-state parties or federal questions go to the federal district court that sits in Memphis. Most claims resolve through negotiation, but we prepare every file as though it will be tried, because insurers pay more attention when they know a case can go in front of a jury. Early on, we send preservation demands for trucking logs, surveillance video, maintenance records, and device data, since that evidence is often lost within weeks.

Questions Memphis Injury Clients Ask

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the injury. The period can extend to two years if the person who hurt you was criminally charged and the prosecution started within that first year. Government claims and health care liability claims carry their own deadlines, so get advice quickly.

What if I was partly at fault for the accident?

You can still recover if you are less than 50 percent at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, and at 50 percent or more you are barred from recovering. Insurers often overstate the injured person’s share, so the evidence on fault deserves close attention.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee, so we are paid only if we recover compensation for you. Your first consultation is free and carries no obligation.

Is there a limit on what I can recover?

Medical bills and lost income are not capped. Pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million in catastrophic cases, with exceptions such as an intoxicated defendant. Punitive damages are limited as well.

Who can bring a wrongful death claim in Tennessee?

The right of action passes to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to the personal representative of the estate. A spouse who abandoned the deceased or willfully withdrew for two years can lose the right to bring or collect on the claim.

The other driver only had minimum insurance. Now what?

Tennessee’s minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries. If your damages exceed that, we look at your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and at whether an employer, vehicle owner, or another party shares responsibility.

I was hurt in Memphis but live in another state. Can you still help?

Yes. We handle the investigation, insurance negotiations, and court filings in Tennessee while keeping you updated by phone and email wherever you live. You will not need to travel back for every step.

Does texting while driving help my case?

It can. Tennessee law prohibits holding a phone, reading or sending text messages, or watching video while driving. Phone records and device data can show whether a driver was distracted, which is why we move to preserve them early.

Can an intoxicated driver face more than the usual damages limit?

Yes. The cap on noneconomic damages does not apply when the defendant was intoxicated to a degree that substantially impaired judgment, among other exceptions. When police investigate a fatal crash involving a suspected impaired driver, they must also look into where the driver was served alcohol.

What if my child was injured?

When the injured person is under 18, the one-year filing period is paused until the child turns 18, and then the clock starts. Parents should still act promptly, since evidence fades and medical needs are easier to document early.

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

Often yes, and using it keeps you from going without care. Insurers and some payers may have reimbursement rights from a settlement, so we account for those when evaluating what you will actually keep.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller injury?

Sometimes injuries that seem minor develop into months of treatment, and early settlement offers rarely account for that. A free consultation lets you learn what the claim may be worth before you sign anything.

Serving Memphis and Injury Clients Across Tennessee

We represent injured people in Memphis and throughout Shelby County, and we travel to clients across West Tennessee when injuries make it hard for them to come to us. From Midtown, Downtown, and the Medical District through East Memphis, Germantown, and Collierville, we help people hurt on the city’s interstates and surface streets. We also serve clients in Bartlett, Cordova, Millington, Lakeland, Arlington, and the neighborhoods of North and South Memphis.

Our reach covers the whole state. We represent clients in Knoxville and Knox County, Sevier County communities such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville, Anderson County, Blount County, Campbell County, Roane County, Claiborne County, Morgan County, Jefferson County, and Monroe County, along with Johnson City, Nashville, and everywhere in between. Whether your case involves a truck wreck, a fall, a wrongful death, or a visitor injury, we can review it and explain your options.

Talk With a Memphis Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you were hurt because of someone else’s carelessness, the sooner you speak with a Memphis personal injury attorney, the more of your evidence and your options remain intact. Call Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a free consultation. There are no fees unless we recover compensation for you, and if you cannot travel, we will come to you.