Murfreesboro Car Accident Lawyer

The goal after a serious wreck is simple to state and hard to reach: medical bills paid, lost income replaced, and the driver or company behind the crash held to account. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee personal injury firm that represents injured people and their families across East Tennessee and throughout the state, and we take on Murfreesboro car accident cases for drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, and pedestrians hurt on Middle Tennessee roads.

Murfreesboro sits in Rutherford County, in the state’s 16th Judicial District, and its traffic runs hard. Commuters feed into the city along Interstate 24 from Nashville, Old Fort Parkway and Memorial Boulevard carry steady local volume, and Thompson Lane and the roads around the university see stop-and-go congestion and student drivers. Crashes on roads like these tend to involve rear-end impacts, red-light runners, and drivers looking at a phone. Tennessee law gives you very little time to act, so what you do in the first weeks matters.

Proving Fault in a Murfreesboro Crash Claim

Insurance companies do not pay because you were hurt. They pay when someone can prove another driver was careless and that the carelessness caused specific, documented harm. Most of the work in a car accident case is building that proof before it disappears.

Tennessee’s Hands Free law is one of the sharper tools available. State law bars drivers from holding a phone or device with any part of the body, reading or sending text-based messages, reaching for a device out of a seated and belted position, or watching or recording video while driving. A driver who broke that rule has a hard time arguing they were being reasonable. Phone records and witness statements can show it, but phone carriers do not keep every record forever, which is one reason early action matters.

Alcohol is the other major fault issue. The per se limit is 0.08 percent blood alcohol, and impairment from prescription medication can support a claim even though no numeric limit exists for those drugs. When a fatal collision involves a driver suspected of being under the influence, officers are directed to investigate where the driver was served and to notify the Alcoholic Beverage Commission within 48 hours. That investigation can open the door to claims against more than the driver.

Then there is comparative fault. Tennessee bars recovery once you are 50 percent or more responsible, and below that line your award shrinks by your share. Defense adjusters know this and routinely try to push injured drivers toward the line with claims about speed, lane position, or late braking. The law also lets a jury assign fault to people who are not even in the lawsuit, so a defendant may point at an empty chair. Answering that takes scene evidence, vehicle data, and sometimes an accident reconstructionist.

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Murfreesboro Car Wreck Case

Car wrecks are the most common reason families call this firm, and our trial lawyers have taken those cases in front of juries in state and federal court. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents injured people across Tennessee, and our attorneys carry more than 170 years of combined experience and have recovered over $100 million for clients. We handle crashes caused by distracted, drunk, and reckless drivers, along with motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, and uninsured motorist claims, and we also pursue cases involving traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, amputation, and wrongful death.

Results show what that looks like in practice. Our attorneys recovered $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 hit him and fled, and $1.6 million for a man struck head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work. Another $1.9 million went to a family after a mother was killed and her daughter seriously hurt by a driver who failed to yield. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The people doing the work matter. Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials, belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates, and received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner Brad C. Burnette carries an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on that association’s Board of Governors. Partner John Willis has tried cases from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish, and hablamos español for clients who prefer it.

Two of our partners also spent years on the other side, defending insurers, trucking companies, and businesses. They know how adjusters value a claim and where defense lawyers look for weakness. We work on contingency, so there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation, and consultations are free. If injuries make travel difficult, we can meet you at home or in the hospital.

What to Do After a Rutherford County Wreck

Start with medical care, even if you feel functional. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap between the crash and your first treatment gives an insurer room to argue the crash did not cause your pain. Follow every referral and keep every appointment, because treatment records are the backbone of the damages claim.

Get a police report. Whether the Murfreesboro Police Department, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, or the Tennessee Highway Patrol responds depends on where the crash happened, and the report number will be your reference for everything that follows. Photograph the vehicles, the intersection, debris, and your injuries before anything is moved or repaired. Collect names and numbers for witnesses, who tend to become unreachable within days.

Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. An adjuster may call quickly, sound friendly, and ask for a recorded statement. You are not required to give one, and offhand remarks like “I’m okay” can follow you for the entire claim. Do not sign medical releases broader than necessary or accept an early check before you know the full extent of your injuries.

The deadline is the part people underestimate. A personal injury lawsuit in Tennessee generally must be filed within one year of the injury. If the at-fault driver is criminally prosecuted and the prosecution starts within that first year, the period can stretch to two years, but you should never plan around that. Property damage claims have a separate three-year window. If a government vehicle caused the crash, such as a city truck or school bus, the Governmental Tort Liability Act requires suit within 12 months and caps damages at $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence. If you were under 18 at the time of the crash, the clock is paused until your eighteenth birthday, at which point the one-year period begins.

Lawsuits from a Murfreesboro crash are generally filed in the circuit court for the 16th Judicial District, which serves Rutherford and Cannon counties. Most cases settle without a trial, but a firm that is visibly ready to try the case gets better offers.

Types of Crashes and Injuries We Handle

• Rear-End and Intersection Collisions: Stop-and-go traffic on Memorial Boulevard, Old Fort Parkway, and the roads around Interstate 24 interchanges produces rear-end and red-light crashes that cause whiplash, disc injuries, and concussions.
• Interstate and Highway Wrecks: High-speed impacts on I-24 often involve multiple vehicles, which makes fault allocation among several drivers a central fight.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Crashes: Freight moves through Rutherford County constantly, and logs, maintenance records, and electronic data must be preserved quickly before they are overwritten or lost.
• Drunk and Impaired Driver Crashes: Alcohol or drug impairment can lift Tennessee’s cap on noneconomic damages and may support claims against whoever served the driver.
• Motorcycle, Pedestrian, and Bicycle Collisions: Riders and walkers absorb the full force of an impact, and drivers often blame them for being hard to see.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is only 25/50/25, so a serious injury can quickly outrun the at-fault driver’s policy and make your own coverage critical.
• Wrongful Death: When a crash kills someone, the claim belongs to the surviving spouse, then children or next of kin, or to a personal representative, and the one-year period runs from the date of the crash.
• Catastrophic Injuries: Traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, and amputation involve lifelong medical needs and lost earning capacity that must be valued carefully.

How Insurance and Damage Limits Shape Your Recovery

Tennessee requires drivers to carry at least $25,000 for one person’s bodily injury, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage, or to meet the requirement through a $65,000 single-limit policy or a bond. A modest policy against a serious injury is common, and it is why identifying every responsible party and every available coverage source, including your own, is a core part of the work.

Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages, meaning pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, are generally limited to $750,000, rising to $1 million for defined catastrophic losses such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, or the loss of two limbs, or the wrongful death of a parent with minor children. Jurors never hear about the cap, and the court applies it afterward. The cap falls away when the defendant was intoxicated to a degree that substantially impaired judgment, intentionally caused the harm, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony. Punitive damages are possible in egregious cases and are limited to the greater of twice the compensatory award or $500,000.

Murfreesboro Car Accident Questions, Answered

How long do I have to sue after a car accident in Murfreesboro?

Generally one year from the date you were hurt. If the other driver faces criminal charges and the prosecution begins within that year, you may have two. Property damage claims get three years.

What if the other driver was uninsured?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage may step in. Tennessee’s minimum coverage is low, so even insured drivers can leave a gap, and your underinsured coverage can help cover it. We review your policy early to see what is available.

Can I recover if I share some blame?

Yes, as long as your share of fault stays under 50 percent. Your award is reduced by your percentage, so fighting the fault allocation can be worth as much as fighting over the injuries themselves.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We are paid only if we recover compensation, and the first consultation is free with no obligation.

Should I talk to the other driver’s insurance company?

Give them basic facts if you must, but decline a recorded statement and do not discuss your injuries or accept a quick offer. Let us handle those conversations.

What compensation can I seek?

Medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and property damage. In a death case, a family may pursue lost income, medical and funeral costs, and the value of the life taken.

Does a phone violation by the other driver help my case?

It can. Tennessee’s Hands Free law makes holding a device, texting, or watching video while driving a violation, and proof of it is strong evidence of carelessness. Phone records are usually obtained through the legal process, so preserving them early is important.

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

Often yes. Injuries like disc damage and concussion sometimes show their full effect weeks later, and settling early closes the claim for good. A short consultation costs nothing and can tell you whether a quick settlement would shortchange you.

What happens if the driver who hit me fled?

A hit-and-run is often handled through your uninsured motorist coverage. Our attorneys recovered $2.3 million for a Knox County motorcyclist who lost his leg when a driver struck him and left the scene, so we know how to build these cases around evidence like cameras and witnesses.

Can a Murfreesboro crash claim include a wrongful death?

Yes. Under Tennessee law the claim passes to the surviving spouse, then to children or next of kin, or may be brought by a personal representative. The deadline runs from the date of the crash, not the date of death, so a death weeks later does not extend it.

What if a city or county vehicle hit me?

Claims against government entities follow the Governmental Tort Liability Act, which requires filing within 12 months and limits damages to $300,000 per person and $700,000 per occurrence. These cases have their own rules, so speak with a lawyer quickly.

Do you work with Spanish-speaking clients?

Yes. Trial attorney Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish and represents clients in their own language.

Serving Murfreesboro and Surrounding Rutherford County Communities

We represent injured people in Murfreesboro, from the neighborhoods around the university and downtown square to the areas along Old Fort Parkway, Memorial Boulevard, and Thompson Lane. Our work reaches the nearby Rutherford County communities of Smyrna, La Vergne, Eagleville, and Christiana, as well as neighboring Cannon County and the town of Woodbury. Drivers hurt on Interstate 24 as it passes through the area, and commuters traveling between Murfreesboro and Nashville, are also welcome to call.

The firm serves clients throughout Tennessee, including Nashville and Memphis, as well as East Tennessee communities like Knoxville, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Clinton, and LaFollette, and counties such as Knox, Sevier, Anderson, Blount, and Campbell. Wherever you live in the state, we can review your wreck, explain your options, and come to you when injuries make travel hard.

Talk With a Murfreesboro Car Accident Attorney Today

The one-year clock is already running, and evidence from your crash is getting harder to find each week. A Murfreesboro car accident attorney at Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette can review what happened, tell you honestly what your claim looks like, and start preserving what matters. Call us for a free consultation. You will owe nothing unless we recover compensation for you.