Memphis Premises Liability Lawyer

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents people across Tennessee who were hurt because a property owner failed to keep a place safe, and that includes families in Memphis dealing with serious falls, unsafe buildings, and dangerous conditions at stores, hotels, apartment complexes, and tourist sites. If you are looking for a Memphis premises liability lawyer, you are probably holding a stack of medical bills and wondering whether the business that owns the property will ever admit its part in what happened.

Premises cases turn on a simple question: did the owner or manager know about the hazard, or should they have found it? A puddle that sat for an hour beside a produce cooler is a different case from a spill that happened ten seconds before you stepped in it. Cracked pavement in a parking lot, a stairwell with burned-out lights, a missing handrail, a broken lock on an apartment gate; each one leaves a trail of maintenance logs, inspection records, and video that either exists or does not. Those records are what we go after early.

Tennessee gives injured people very little time. The general deadline to file is one year from the date of the injury, and claims against a city or county are governed by a separate twelve-month rule. Waiting to see how you feel is the most expensive mistake in these cases.

What to Do After You Are Hurt on Someone Else’s Property in Memphis

Get medical care first, even if the pain seems manageable. Hip fractures, concussions, and torn shoulders often show their full severity days later, and a gap between the fall and your first treatment gives the property owner’s insurer room to argue the injury came from somewhere else. Tell the doctor exactly how and where you fell so it is recorded in the chart.

Report the incident to the manager, owner, or landlord, and ask that a written incident report be made. Do not sign anything or give a recorded statement to the owner’s insurance adjuster before you understand what you are agreeing to. Adjusters are friendly on the phone and careful on paper. A casual remark that you were “not really watching where I was going” can be turned into a fault percentage against you.

Photograph the exact spot before it changes: the floor, the spill, the broken step, the lighting, any warning signs or the lack of them. Get the names and numbers of anyone who saw it. Keep the shoes you were wearing and do not wash or repair them. Write down the time, the weather, and what you were carrying or doing. If the property has cameras, video is often overwritten within days or weeks, so a preservation demand needs to go out quickly.

If you were hurt at a hotel, restaurant, or attraction in Memphis, remember that the owner may be a company based elsewhere with insurers and lawyers already in place. If a city or county entity owns the property, such as a public building, sidewalk, or park, the Governmental Tort Liability Act applies, with its own twelve-month filing rule and a damages ceiling of $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence. Cases that reach court in Shelby County are heard in the state trial courts for that county, and federal claims in Memphis go to the Western District of Tennessee.

Common Premises Liability Situations in Memphis

• Slip and Fall on Wet or Slick Floors: Grocery stores, restaurants, big-box retailers, and hotel lobbies create these cases. The question is whether staff had a cleaning schedule, put out warning signs, and followed their own policy.
• Trip Hazards and Broken Walkways: Cracked sidewalks, uneven parking lot pavement, loose mats, and torn carpeting can send someone to the ground. Owners are expected to inspect and repair, not wait for a complaint.
• Poor Lighting and Stairway Defects: Dark stairwells, missing handrails, and worn treads cause some of the most serious falls, including broken hips and head injuries.
• Negligent Security: Apartment complexes, parking garages, and businesses with a history of break-ins or assaults may be responsible when they ignore known risks and a guest or tenant is attacked.
• Hotel and Rental Property Hazards: Hot tub and spa injuries, drain entrapment, bacterial infections, and carbon monoxide exposure from faulty heaters or fireplaces can sicken guests and tenants.
• Tourist and Attraction Injuries: Visitors hurt at Graceland, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues often live out of state, which makes early evidence preservation more important.
• Dangerous Conditions That Cause Wrongful Death: When a fall, fire, or poisoning kills someone, the claim passes to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or to a personal representative.
• Injuries to Children: A minor injured on someone’s property has the filing clock tolled until age 18, after which the one-year period begins, though a parent’s own claim for medical costs does not get that extra time.

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

Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court, and that trial record matters in a premises case, because property owners and their insurers decide how much to offer based on whether they believe a lawyer will actually try the case.

Partner Brad C. Burnette holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors. Partner John Willis also sits on that board. Two of the firm’s partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how a property owner’s insurer builds its defense, what the claims file looks like from the inside, and where the weak points tend to be.

The firm’s attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience, the firm has recovered over $100 million for clients, and its lawyers are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine. Results include $1.9 million after a mother was killed and her daughter seriously injured by a driver who failed to yield in Sevier County, and $1.5 million for a roofer who suffered a traumatic brain injury when his safety harness failed. Those cases involved different facts than a Memphis fall, but both show the firm’s willingness to pursue serious injury and wrongful death claims through to full value. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Clients pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation, and the first consultation is free. If your injuries make travel difficult, we can meet you at home or in the hospital. Hablamos español; attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish and represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

How Fault, Notice, and Damages Work in a Tennessee Premises Case

To win, an injured person generally has to show that a dangerous condition existed, that the owner either created it or knew or should have known about it, and that the condition caused the injury. Notice is where most of these cases are fought. Owners argue the hazard appeared too recently to be found. We look at employee schedules, inspection logs, prior complaints, similar incidents, and surveillance footage to show the condition lasted long enough that a reasonable owner would have caught it.

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault. You can recover as long as you are less than 50 percent at fault, but your award is reduced by your share. At 50 percent or more, the claim is barred. Fault can also be assigned to people who are not in the lawsuit, such as a contractor who did the faulty repair, and Tennessee has abolished joint and several liability in most negligence cases, so each party answers only for its own share. That makes identifying every responsible party at the outset important.

Economic damages, such as medical bills and lost income, are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for a defined catastrophic injury such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, or loss of both hands or feet. The cap is not told to the jury and is applied by the judge afterward, and it can be lifted in limited situations, such as when the defendant was intoxicated or destroyed evidence. Property damage claims carry a three-year deadline, which is separate from the one-year injury deadline.

Questions About Memphis Premises Liability Claims

How long do I have to file a premises liability lawsuit in Tennessee?

The general deadline is one year from the date you were hurt. It can extend to two years if criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the injury within that first year and you sue that same person. Claims against government entities must be filed within twelve months.

Does the one-year deadline apply to a wrongful death claim?

Yes. There is no separate wrongful death deadline, so the one-year period is borrowed from the personal injury rule and runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. A family that waits until after the funeral and estate paperwork can already be running short.

What if I was partly at fault for my fall?

You can still recover if you were less than 50 percent responsible, though your compensation drops by your percentage. Owners commonly argue the injured person was distracted, wore bad shoes, or ignored an open hazard, so how fault is documented matters.

Do I have to prove the owner knew about the hazard?

Not always directly. You can show the owner created the condition, knew about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection. Records, employee testimony, and video often fill that gap.

What does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, so fees are owed only if we recover compensation, and your first consultation is free.

What if the property owner is a city or county entity?

These claims fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, which requires filing within twelve months and caps damages at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence. Those limits make early investigation and proper filing especially important.

The owner’s insurer has already offered me money. Should I take it?

An early offer is usually made before the full extent of your injuries is known. Once you sign a release, you cannot go back for more if you later need surgery. Talk with a lawyer before accepting or signing anything.

I live in another state and was hurt while visiting Memphis. Can you handle my case?

Yes. We handle investigation, negotiations, and court filings in Tennessee and keep you updated by phone and email, so you do not need to travel back for each step.

My child was hurt on someone’s property. Is the deadline different?

For the child’s own claim, the limitations period is tolled while the child is under 18, and the one-year clock starts at 18. Parents still have to watch their own claim for the child’s medical expenses.

Can a premises case involve carbon monoxide or a hot tub injury?

Yes. Responsibility may fall on the owner, a property manager, a maintenance or HVAC contractor, or a manufacturer. Preserving the equipment and inspection records quickly is often the difference in proving who failed.

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

Often yes, and many people use it so treatment is not delayed. Your insurer may seek reimbursement from a recovery, which we account for when evaluating a settlement.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller fall?

If you missed work, needed surgery, or face lasting limits, the claim is worth reviewing. Even seemingly minor falls can involve hidden injuries, and owners take smaller claims more seriously when a lawyer is involved.

Serving Premises Liability Clients In and Around Memphis

We represent injured people throughout Shelby County and the Memphis area, including residents of neighborhoods and communities around the city, as well as visitors who were hurt while passing through. Our reach extends across Tennessee, from Memphis and Nashville to Johnson City and everywhere in between.

Our work also covers East Tennessee, including Knoxville, Clinton, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and LaFollette, and clients in Knox, Anderson, Blount, Sevier, Campbell, Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe counties. Wherever the property is, and wherever you live now, we review the facts, explain your options, and travel to you when your injuries make it hard to come to us.

Talk With a Memphis Premises Liability Attorney Today

The clock on a Tennessee injury claim starts the day you are hurt, and evidence like video and maintenance records does not wait. A Memphis premises liability attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can listen to what happened, tell you honestly whether you have a claim, and move quickly to preserve what matters. Call us to schedule a free consultation. There are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.