Tennessee Personal Injury Guide

Tennessee statutes online

This is where you’ll find the Tennessee Code. The website has details about how long you have to bring a case, monetary limits on personal injury cases (which are also known as damage caps), and other important information.

Tennessee Code

To read:

• Do I have a legal case after my accident?
• What is personal injury law?
• What are damage caps?

Tennessee's car accident statute of limitation

In Tennessee, you have one year to bring a personal injury and three years for a property damage claim. That means you have only one year to file your paperwork with the court, not that your case has to be completed in that time frame. That (along with Kentucky and Louisiana) is the shortest statute of limitation for personal injury in the nation, so be aware and remember that when filing.

Tennessee's Statute of Limitations

To read:

• What is the statute of limitations?
• The claims process and how long a personal injury lawsuit takes

Tennessee damage caps

Tennessee damage caps, or the limits that can be placed on the non-economic damages that plaintiffs receive for a personal injury case, are in a state of flux. Let's take a look at why.

Plaintiffs are eligible for compensation related to their injuries, and that can take two different forms: economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are things like medical bills, property damage, and other tangible assets; these have no limit as to recovery. However, Tennessee has set a limit on non-economic damages, which include non-tangible assets like pain and suffering, companionship and the like. The current cap in Tennessee is $750,000.

In 2011, the Tennessee legislature passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act, which was their form of Tort Reform (everyone's favorite dinner table discussion!) That capped non-economic damages at the $750,000 mark. However, the legal case that could change this is Clark v. Cain, No. 12C1147CV (2015). Mr. Clark sued Ms. Cain, an employee of AT&T, and a number of AT&T divisions, for $25 million after being in a severe car crash. He also challenged the constitutionality of the damage cap statute and directly appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court before the jury had even awarded him in excess of the damage caps.

The Tennessee Supreme Court vacated the appeal and remanded the case to the trial court, saying that until the jury finds a jury award in excess of the cap, the case is not ripe for appeal, meaning there is no point to appealing the case. As of yet, no further rulings have been made. However, the Tennessee Medical Association is proposing an amendment to the state constitution that would keep the non-economic cap legal, though it would need to pass two separate General Assemblies before the public would get to vote. As of right now, the damage cap remains at $750,000 for non-economic damages.

Tennessee's medical malpractice statute of limitations

This is where it gets more complicated. There is a separate statute of limitations for medical malpractice in the state of Tennessee. It must be followed to the letter, or your lawsuit will be tossed out of court. This sort of injury will be medical malpractice, and Tennessee law requires that medical providers be given 60 days' written notice before a lawsuit is filed. That written notice has to meet very stringent requirements, and only a licensed attorney for that state will know how to do it. Sometimes the written notice requirement can be extended to 120 days, but it must be done within the statute of limitations, which is one year from the date of injury.

There can be exceptions to that statute of limitations, like the Discovery Rule or when the plaintiff is a minor or mentally incapacitated. For instance, if you did not know you had a sponge left in your chest cavity until two years after an operation, that would probably qualify under the Discovery Rule, because the injury was not "discovered" at the time the medical malpractice occurred. The statute begins to run from the date you reasonably discover or should have discovered the malpractice.

In terms of minors or those who are mentally incapacitated, the statute would be extended for one year until after the minor turns 18 or one year from the date the mentally incapacitated person becomes competent. Both of these are subject to the Statute of Repose.

And what is the Statute of Repose? Well, it bars lawsuits filed after three years from the date of injury, regardless of the discovery of the injury, age, or mental status of the patient. Think of it as an absolute bar (unless the medical provider acted fraudulently or tried to conceal his wrongdoing). So, there's always some kind of exception – unless there isn't. This is why you need to speak to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Tennessee.

Personal injury law basics

What is personal injury? Common questions answered. Accident & personal injury case/claim basics: read about money, insurance, liability, negligence, timing, lawsuit, settlements. Read more

• University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Law Joel A. Katz Law Library
• Vanderbilt Law School Alyne Queener Massey Law Library

• Shelby County Law Library