Nashville Wrongful Death Lawyer

A family in Nashville that has just lost someone to a crash, a fall, or a negligent act is facing funeral costs, lost income, and a legal clock that started running on the day of the injury. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette is a Tennessee injury law firm that represents families in Nashville wrongful death matters, along with serious injury cases across Davidson County and the rest of the state.

Wrongful death in Tennessee is not a separate lawsuit with its own deadline. The claim is built on the injury that killed the person, and the one-year filing period is borrowed from the personal injury statute. That period runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. If a loved one was hurt in a wreck on I-40 and died weeks later in the hospital, the clock began at the wreck.

That detail catches families off guard more than almost any other. Grief, funeral planning, and estate paperwork can eat months, and the window to file can close while a family is still trying to get through the week.

Situations That Lead to Wrongful Death Claims Near Nashville

• Car and Motorcycle Crashes: Interstate traffic on I-24, I-40, and I-65 moves fast and heavy through Davidson County. Distracted driving, speeding, and impaired driving are the usual causes, and Tennessee’s hands-free law makes handheld phone use while driving a violation, which can matter as evidence of negligence.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Collisions: Nashville sits on a freight corridor, and a truck crash often involves the driver, the carrier, and sometimes a maintenance or loading contractor. Logs, inspection records, and electronic data need to be preserved early.
• Drunk Driving Deaths: When an impaired driver causes a fatal crash, the case can involve more than the driver. Tennessee directs officers investigating a fatal collision to look into where the driver was served and to notify the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Deaths: Downtown, the Gulch, and the busy corridors leading out of the city put people on foot and on bikes in conflict with turning and distracted drivers.
• Premises Liability Deaths: Falls from unsafe stairs, balconies, or construction areas, drownings at poorly secured pools, and carbon monoxide poisoning in rental properties can all lead to claims against owners and managers.
• Workplace and Construction Deaths: Workers’ compensation usually limits claims against the employer, but a death caused by a negligent driver, a defective machine, or another contractor can support a separate third-party wrongful death claim.
• Medical Negligence Deaths: Health care liability claims follow their own rules, including a one-year limitations period with a three-year outer limit, so these cases need prompt review.
• Government-Involved Deaths: When a city, county, or other public entity is at fault, suit generally must be filed within twelve months under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, and damages are capped.

Who Can File and What a Tennessee Family Can Recover

Tennessee law decides who holds the right to sue. The claim passes first to the surviving spouse, then to the children or next of kin, or to the deceased person’s personal representative. A suit can be brought by the personal representative or the surviving spouse, and if there is no spouse, by the children or next of kin. A spouse can lose this right if the children or next of kin prove the spouse abandoned the deceased or willfully withdrew for two years.

Recoverable losses typically include medical and funeral expenses, the income the person would have earned, and the loss of companionship and the value of the life itself. Economic damages are not capped in Tennessee. Noneconomic damages generally are, at $750,000, with a higher ceiling of $1 million when a parent of minor children is the person who died. Punitive damages, where the facts support them, are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000.

The noneconomic cap lifts in specific situations, including when the defendant intended the harm, was intoxicated, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a related felony. A drunk driving death is one reason the facts of the crash matter so much to the value of the case. The jury is not told about the cap; the judge applies it afterward.

Fault matters too. Tennessee follows modified comparative fault, so a recovery is reduced by any share of blame assigned to the person who died, and barred entirely at 50 percent or more. Fault can also be assigned to parties who are not in the lawsuit, which is why insurers and defense lawyers work hard to point at everyone but their own client.

Why Families Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Nashville Wrongful Death Case

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette has recovered over $100 million for injured people and families, and wrongful death cases are among the matters the firm handles. 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, and $1.9 million after a mother was killed and her daughter seriously injured by a driver who failed to yield on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevier County. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The firm’s attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience. Two partners spent earlier years defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how those defenses are built and where they tend to break. Bruce D. Fox, co-founder, has tried more than 125 jury trials, received the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Brad C. Burnette, partner, holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and serves on the association’s Board of Governors, as does partner John Willis. The firm’s attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Families pay nothing up front. The firm works on a contingency fee, so there is no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered, and the first consultation is free. If grief or injury makes travel hard, the attorneys can meet you at home or at the hospital. Michael C. Beehan is fluent in Spanish, and the firm welcomes Spanish-speaking families.

What to Do in the Weeks After a Death Caused by Someone Else

Start with the date of the injury, because that date controls the filing deadline. Write it down, and write down the date of death separately. If the death followed a crash, an incident at a business, or a medical event, count one year from the injury and treat that as the outer edge. If a criminal charge was filed against the person responsible, the period can extend to two years, but only when prosecution began within a year of the injury, so do not plan around that extension.

Get the official records. For a crash, request the police report from the agency that responded, whether that was Metropolitan Nashville police or the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Keep medical records, bills, and the death certificate. Photograph the scene if you can do so safely, and save texts, photos, and anything posted online about what happened. Do not let anyone discard a vehicle, a machine, or an appliance involved in the death.

Be careful with insurance companies. An adjuster may call quickly, sound sympathetic, and ask for a recorded statement or offer a fast payment. Anything you say can be used to argue that your loved one shared the blame. Tennessee’s minimum auto liability coverage is only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, so the at-fault driver’s policy may fall far short of the loss. Other coverage, including uninsured motorist coverage and policies held by an employer or trucking company, may be available, and finding it takes investigation.

Decide early who will serve as personal representative, since the estate may need to be opened and the person appointed. Probate and estate matters are handled in the county’s Chancery Court, while a wrongful death lawsuit itself is typically filed in the circuit court for the county where the death occurred or the defendant is found. For cases with diverse parties, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, which sits in Nashville, may also come into play.

Wrongful Death Questions Nashville Families Ask

How long do we have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year, counted from the date of the injury that caused the death. Tennessee has no standalone wrongful death deadline; the personal injury period applies. Health care liability claims and claims against government entities have their own timing rules.

Does the clock start at the date of death or the date of the injury?

The date of the injury. If someone is hurt and survives for weeks or months before dying, the one-year period still began on the day of the injury.

Who has the right to bring the claim?

The right passes to the surviving spouse first, then to the children or next of kin, or to the personal representative. The action can be brought by the personal representative or the surviving spouse, or by the children or next of kin if there is no spouse.

What can a family recover?

Medical and funeral costs, lost income, and the loss of the person’s companionship and the value of their life. Punitive damages are possible when the conduct was especially reckless, such as drunk driving.

Is there a cap on wrongful death damages?

Economic damages are not capped. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million if the person who died was a parent of minor children. The cap does not apply in certain situations, including intoxication by the defendant.

What if our loved one was partly at fault?

Tennessee reduces the recovery by the percentage of fault assigned to the person who died. If that share reaches 50 percent or more, recovery is barred. Defense lawyers lean on this rule, so a careful reconstruction of what happened matters.

Can we still sue if the driver was criminally charged or convicted?

Yes. The criminal case and the civil case are separate. A conviction for a related felony can lift the noneconomic cap, and prosecution can extend the filing period, but the civil claim does not depend on the criminal outcome.

What if the at-fault driver had only minimum insurance?

The minimum coverage is $25,000 per person, which rarely covers a death. We look for other sources, including your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, an employer’s policy if the driver was working, and other responsible parties.

Will a wrongful death claim affect the estate or probate process?

The two run alongside each other. A personal representative may need to be appointed, and the estate itself is administered through the county’s Chancery Court. The wrongful death proceeds follow the statute’s order of beneficiaries.

What if the person who died was a child or a minor’s parent?

If a parent of minor children dies, the higher $1 million noneconomic limit can apply. Claims involving an injured minor have separate tolling rules, so the facts of each family need to be reviewed.

Do we need to be in Nashville to hire your firm?

No. The firm handles the investigation and filings, can travel to you, and can meet at home or in the hospital when needed.

What does it cost to hire the firm?

Nothing up front. The fee is contingent on a recovery, and the first consultation is free.

Representing Families Across Nashville and Davidson County

The firm represents wrongful death families starting in Nashville and Davidson County, including downtown, East Nashville, the Gulch, Germantown, Midtown, Green Hills, Bellevue, Antioch, Donelson, Hermitage, Madison, Inglewood, and Bordeaux. We also serve families from the surrounding communities of Brentwood, Franklin, Hendersonville, Gallatin, Mount Juliet, Lebanon, Smyrna, La Vergne, and Goodlettsville.

Beyond Middle Tennessee, the firm serves families across the state, including Memphis, Johnson City, and the East Tennessee communities of Knoxville, Maryville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Clinton, and LaFollette, and the counties of Knox, Sevier, Blount, Anderson, Campbell, Roane, Claiborne, Morgan, Jefferson, and Monroe. If a loved one from your family died in Tennessee, wherever you live, we can review the case.

Speak With a Nashville Wrongful Death Attorney

The deadline in a Tennessee wrongful death case is short, and the evidence that proves fault is easiest to secure early. Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette offers a free consultation and takes these cases on contingency, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation. If you are looking for a Nashville wrongful death attorney who will explain your options plainly and handle the legal work while your family grieves, call us to talk it through.