Tennessee Car Accident Laws

Most of this page is about one fact: Tennessee's filing deadline is unusually short. Everything else about handling a Tennessee claim follows a fairly standard pattern, but the deadline changes how much time you actually have to act.

Most states give you two years or more to file. Tennessee gives you one. That difference changes how quickly everything else needs to happen.

Statute of limitations: 1 year

Under Tenn. Code §28-3-104, you generally have just one year from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit — significantly shorter than the two-year deadline common in most states. Property damage gets a longer, three-year window. Wrongful death claims also carry a one-year deadline, running from the date of death.

Fault rule: modified comparative negligence, 50% bar

Tennessee courts apply modified comparative negligence: you can recover damages if you're found less than 50% at fault, reduced by your percentage. At 50% or more, you recover nothing.

Insurance: at-fault system, 25/50/15 minimum

Tennessee is an at-fault state. Minimum liability limits are 25/50/15: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage. Given the short filing deadline, it's especially important not to rely on the other driver's insurer to move quickly — the lawsuit clock keeps running regardless.

How this plays out in a real claim

Take an intersection collision where fault is genuinely disputed. If an insurer or court assigns you 40% of the blame, Tennessee's rule still lets you recover 60% of your damages. But if that assessment creeps to 50% or above, the claim is barred entirely under Tennessee's rule — not reduced, eliminated. That single threshold is exactly why insurers have a real incentive to push a borderline case just over the line rather than simply discount what they pay.

A mistake worth avoiding in Tennessee

Because a single percentage point at the 50% threshold can be the entire difference between a reduced payout and nothing at all, careless statements at the scene or to an adjuster carry more weight here than in a pure comparative state. Avoid speculating about fault, even casually, until the full picture — police report, witnesses, any available footage — is in front of you.

If a government vehicle or agency was involved

Tennessee is a useful case study in how these rules vary: its Governmental Tort Liability Act (Tenn. Code Ann. §29-20-101 et seq.) sets a 12-month deadline to file a claim against a state or local government entity (§29-20-305), which is actually the same length as Tennessee's already-unusually-short 1-year general personal injury deadline — unlike most states, where the government deadline is dramatically shorter than the ordinary one. Claims specifically involving the Tennessee Department of Transportation go through a separate process, the Claims Commission Act, requiring written notice to the Department of Treasury.

If the crash resulted in a death

Tennessee's wrongful death deadline is unusually short: just one year from the date of death (Tenn. Code §28-3-104), matching — rather than extending — the state's already-short one-year general injury deadline. Priority to file runs surviving spouse first, then children or next of kin, then the estate's personal representative; a spouse who abandoned the decedent for two or more years can be excluded. Punitive damages are available but capped at the greater of twice compensatory damages or $500,000.

Beyond the deadline and the fault rule

The statute of limitations and the fault rule above decide whether you have a claim and how much of it survives — they don't decide what the claim is actually worth, or whether it's worth handling yourself. For that, see our guides on what affects a settlement, who pays your medical bills while a claim is pending, and whether Tennessee law makes a lawyer worth it for your specific situation.

When it's worth talking to someone

Given how short Tennessee's deadline is, this is one of the clearer cases for getting advice early — there's simply less room to wait and see how negotiations go. A free, no-obligation conversation costs nothing and protects your options.