Tennessee Car Accident Lawyers

Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette represents people across Tennessee who have been hurt in crashes caused by someone else, and the firm also stands beside families who have lost a loved one on the road. Our work for clients begins with the Tennessee car accident lawyers you can reach for a free consultation, and from there we investigate the wreck, deal with the insurance company, and prepare the case for a jury when a fair settlement is not offered.

Tennessee crash cases are won or lost on timing more than most people realize. The state gives an injured person one year from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit, which is among the shortest windows anywhere in the country. Add a fault system that shuts the door completely on anyone found half responsible, and you can see why the first weeks after a wreck matter so much. Evidence fades, vehicles get repaired or scrapped, and the other driver’s insurer starts building its version of events before you have left the hospital.

Whether the collision happened on I-40 near Knoxville, on the Parkway in Sevier County, or on a two-lane road in Anderson or Campbell County, the same questions apply. Who was at fault, how much insurance is actually available, and what will it take to cover the full cost of recovery?

Why Choose Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette for a Tennessee Car Accident Case

Most clients experience our firm as a team that comes to them. If your injuries make travel hard, we can meet you at home or in the hospital, and the first consultation costs nothing. There are no attorney fees in a car accident case unless we recover compensation for you, so the cost of hiring a lawyer is never a reason to wait. We also speak Spanish: Michael C. Beehan, a trial attorney with the firm, is fluent and represents Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

The firm’s attorneys bring more than 170 years of combined experience and have recovered over $100 million for clients. For car wreck victims, a few results carry particular weight. We secured $3.4 million for the family of a man killed in a Morgan County rear-end collision caused by a construction company driver, $2.3 million for a Knox County motorcyclist who lost his leg when a driver struck him and fled, $1.9 million after a driver failed to yield on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevier County and killed a mother while seriously injuring her daughter, and $1.6 million for an Anderson County man hit head-on by a commercial delivery truck on his way to work. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, but they show the kinds of cases we take to the end.

Two of our partners spent the early part of their careers defending insurance companies, trucking companies, and businesses, so they know how adjusters value claims and how defense lawyers pick them apart. Bruce D. Fox, co-founder and a past president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, has tried more than 125 jury trials in state and federal court and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. 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 serves on that board and is a past president of the Anderson County Bar Association. Our attorneys are regularly voted among Knoxville’s Top Attorneys by CityView Magazine.

Types of Tennessee Car Accident Claims We Handle

• Distracted Driving Collisions: Tennessee’s Hands Free law makes it illegal to hold a phone, read or send texts, or watch video while driving. A violation is a Class C misdemeanor, and phone records can help show that a driver broke that rule before the crash.
• Drunk and Impaired Driver Crashes: The per se alcohol limit is 0.08%, and there is no set numeric limit for prescription drugs, so impairment cases often turn on officer observations and toxicology. These cases can also open the door to higher damages than usual.
• Tractor-Trailer and Commercial Vehicle Wrecks: Interstates 40, 75, and 81 move heavy freight through East Tennessee every day. Driver logs, maintenance records, and electronic data can be lost if no one acts quickly to preserve them.
• Motorcycle Crashes: Riders are exposed to severe injuries when drivers fail to see them or turn across their path, and insurers often lean on arguments about speed or lane position.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents: Crosswalk strikes, parking lot collisions, and drivers who pass too close can produce long recoveries and permanent harm.
• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Claims: Tennessee’s minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, which may not come close to covering a serious injury. Your own policy may fill part of that gap.
• Hit-and-Run Crashes: When a driver flees, the claim may run through your own uninsured motorist coverage, and prompt evidence gathering can help identify the driver.
• Wrongful Death After a Crash: When a collision takes a life, the law gives the right to sue to the surviving spouse first, then to the children or next of kin, or to a personal representative.

What to Do After a Car Accident in Tennessee

Get medical care first, even if you feel fine. Adrenaline hides injuries, and a gap between the wreck and your first doctor visit gives the insurer an argument that something else caused your pain. If emergency crews respond, make sure a police report is filed with the agency that handled the scene, whether that is a city police department, a county sheriff’s office, or the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Ask the officer how to get a copy.

At the scene, if you can do so safely, photograph the vehicles, skid marks, debris, road conditions, and anything that explains what went wrong, such as a blocked sign or a poorly lit intersection. Get names and contact information for the other driver and any witnesses. Keep what you say to the other driver’s insurer brief and factual. Adjusters often ask for recorded statements early, and anything you say about your own conduct can be used against you later. You are not required to give one, and it is usually wiser to speak with a lawyer first.

The deadline deserves plain language: a personal injury lawsuit in Tennessee generally must be filed within one year of the crash. If the other driver is criminally charged and prosecution begins within that first year, the filing period can stretch to two years, but you should never count on that. Property damage claims have a longer window of three years. Claims against a government entity, such as a crash involving a city or county vehicle, fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, which requires suit within 12 months. If the injured person is a minor, the clock is tolled until the child turns 18, and then the one-year period begins.

Where a lawsuit goes depends on the facts. Most car accident suits are filed in the circuit court of the county where the crash happened or where the defendant lives. In Knox County, which sits in the Sixth Judicial District, that means Knox County Circuit Court in Knoxville. Smaller claims can be heard in General Sessions Court, whose civil jurisdiction is limited by dollar amount, and some cases involving out-of-state parties or federal questions belong in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, which sits in Knoxville for the Northern Division. Part of our job is choosing the forum that serves you best.

Keep your own records as well. Save medical bills, pay stubs showing lost time, repair estimates, and a simple journal of how the injuries affect your days. Avoid posting about the wreck or your recovery on social media, because defense teams read it.

How Fault and Damage Limits Shape Your Recovery

Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule. You can recover only if you are less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share. At 50 percent or more, you recover nothing. That single line explains why insurers work so hard to assign blame to the injured person, and why even a small shift in a fault percentage can change what a case is worth. Tennessee also allows a jury to assign fault to people who are not even parties to the lawsuit, and joint and several liability has been abolished in most negligence cases, so each defendant generally pays only its own share.

Damages fall into two groups. Economic damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity, are not capped. Noneconomic damages, which cover pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, are generally limited to $750,000. That ceiling rises to $1 million for defined catastrophic losses, including spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia, amputation of both hands, both feet, or one of each, third-degree burns over 40 percent of the body or face, and the wrongful death of a parent who leaves minor children. The jury is not told about the cap; the court 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, which is one reason impaired driving cases are investigated so carefully.

Punitive damages are reserved for the worst conduct and are limited to the greater of two times compensatory damages or $500,000. When a crash kills someone, the claim is pursued under the wrongful death statutes, and the one-year period runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death.

Common Questions About Tennessee Car Accident Claims

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Tennessee?

Generally one year from the date of the crash. The period can reach two years when the at-fault driver is criminally charged and prosecuted within that first year, but relying on that exception is risky. Property damage claims carry a three-year deadline.

What if I was partly at fault for the wreck?

You can still recover as long as you are less than 50 percent responsible. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage, and at 50 percent or more you are barred. Insurers know this, which is why they push blame toward injured drivers.

How much insurance does the other driver have to carry?

Tennessee requires minimum liability limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $25,000 for property damage. Drivers can also satisfy the requirement with a $65,000 single-limit policy or a bond. Many serious injuries cost far more than those minimums.

What if the driver who hit me has no insurance?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage may apply, depending on your policy. We review your coverage and the other driver’s situation to see where compensation can come from.

Is there a cap on what I can recover?

Economic damages are not capped. Noneconomic damages are generally limited to $750,000, or $1 million for catastrophic losses as the statute defines them, with exceptions such as intoxicated or intentionally harmful defendants.

How much does it cost to hire your firm?

Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, so we are paid only if we recover compensation for you, and the first consultation is free.

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

You can give basic information, but you do not have to provide a recorded statement. Early statements often get used to minimize a claim, so it is best to speak with a lawyer before saying more.

Does the Hands Free law matter if the other driver was on a phone?

Yes. Holding a device, reading or sending texts, or watching video while driving is prohibited, and evidence of that conduct can support a negligence claim. Phone records can be requested during a lawsuit, but they must be preserved early.

Can a drunk driving crash change my case?

It can. An intoxicated defendant removes the noneconomic damages cap, and a criminal prosecution can extend your filing deadline to two years. In fatal collisions, officers investigating a suspected impaired driver are also required to look into where the alcohol was served.

What happens if my child was hurt in a car accident?

When the injured person is under 18, the limitations period is tolled until the child’s 18th birthday, and then the one-year clock begins. Parents often still have their own claims for medical expenses, so it is wise to talk with a lawyer early.

Do I have to go to court?

Many claims settle without a trial, but we prepare each case as though it will be tried. Insurers tend to offer more when they know the lawyer on the other side is ready for a jury.

I live out of state but was hurt in a Tennessee crash. Can you still help?

Yes. We handle the investigation, insurance negotiations, and court filings here while keeping you updated by phone and email wherever you live.

Serving Car Accident Victims Across East Tennessee and the State

We represent crash victims throughout Tennessee, with deep roots in East Tennessee. In Knox County, that includes Knoxville and the communities around it. In Sevier County, we handle collisions in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, where heavy tourist traffic on the Parkway and mountain roads produces its own kind of wreck. In Anderson County we serve Clinton and the surrounding area, and in Campbell County, LaFollette. Blount County clients come to us from Maryville and nearby towns.

We have also represented people from Roane County, Claiborne County, Morgan County, Jefferson County, and Monroe County, and our reach extends from Johnson City to Nashville to Memphis. Whatever road you were on, if a crash changed your life, we can review what happened, explain your options, and travel to you when your injuries make it hard to come to us. We also serve Spanish-speaking clients in their own language.

Talk With a Tennessee Car Accident Attorney Today

If you were injured in a wreck, or you lost someone you love on a Tennessee road, a call to our Tennessee car accident attorney team costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will listen, tell you where your claim stands, and explain what the one-year deadline means for your case. Call Fox, Farley, Willis & Burnette to schedule your free consultation. We can come to you if you cannot come to us.