Tennessee Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims

Under Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(1), you have just 1 year from the date your injury occurred to file a personal injury lawsuit in Tennessee. This applies to most negligence-based claims, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle crashes, pedestrian accidents, slip and falls, and dog bites.

The 1-year clock starts on the date the injury happens — not the date you hire an attorney, not the date you finish medical treatment, and not the date you realize the full extent of your injuries. If your accident occurred on April 15, 2025, you must file your lawsuit by April 15, 2026. Filing even one day late results in permanent dismissal.

Tennessee's 1-year deadline is the shortest in our coverage area. For comparison, Ohio and Indiana give you 2 years. Wisconsin and Minnesota give you 3 years. Missouri gives you 5 years. That means a Tennessee injury victim has a fraction of the time that victims in neighboring states have. There is no room for delay, procrastination, or extended negotiations without a filed lawsuit to protect the deadline.

Tennessee's wrongful death statute of limitations is 1 year from the date of death under Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(1), applied to wrongful death actions via Tenn. Code § 20-5-106. The claim must be filed by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate. If no estate has been opened, one must be established before the lawsuit can be filed — and this process takes time out of an already compressed deadline.

There is one important extension: if criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the death (for example, vehicular homicide or DUI manslaughter), the deadline extends from 1 year to 2 years from the date the cause of action accrued (Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(b)). This extension only applies when criminal charges are actually filed — it does not apply merely because the death was caused by criminal conduct.

Wrongful death damages in Tennessee include funeral and burial expenses, loss of income the deceased would have earned, loss of companionship and consortium, and the pain and suffering the deceased experienced between the injury and death. These claims are separate from any personal injury claim the deceased person may have had while alive.

Tennessee gives you more time for property damage claims. Under Tenn. Code § 28-3-105, the statute of limitations for property damage is 3 years from the date the damage occurred. This covers vehicle damage, property destruction, and other tangible losses from an accident.

In practice, most people pursue personal injury and property damage claims together after an accident. But the different deadlines matter if you initially focused only on your vehicle damage claim and later realized you had injuries that developed over time. Your property damage claim may still be alive even if your personal injury deadline has passed.

Do not rely on the longer property damage deadline as a reason to delay. Your personal injury claim — which typically represents the larger portion of your total damages — is subject to the strict 1-year deadline. Addressing both claims simultaneously is the safest approach.

Under Tenn. Code § 28-1-106, the statute of limitations is tolled (paused) while the injured person is under 18 years old. The clock does not start running until the minor's 18th birthday. For personal injury claims, a minor has until their 19th birthday to file — 1 year after turning 18.

This tolling provision protects children who cannot make legal decisions for themselves. A child injured in a car accident at age 5 has until they turn 19 to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, parents or guardians can and often should file claims on behalf of injured minors well before the child reaches adulthood — evidence degrades over time, witnesses become harder to locate, and memories fade.

One critical exception: the tolling for minors does NOT apply in wrongful death cases involving the death of a minor. If a child dies from injuries, the 1-year wrongful death deadline runs from the date of death regardless of the child's age. The parent or estate representative must file within that compressed timeline.

Tennessee recognizes a discovery rule that may delay the start of the limitations period. Under this rule, the 1-year clock begins when the plaintiff discovered — or reasonably should have discovered — the injury, rather than when the injury actually occurred.

The discovery rule is most commonly applied in medical malpractice cases under Tenn. Code § 29-26-116, where a patient may not immediately know that a procedure was performed negligently. It can also apply in cases involving latent injuries, toxic exposure, or other situations where the harm was not immediately apparent.

For standard accident cases like car crashes and slip and falls, the discovery rule rarely applies because the injury and its cause are obvious at the time of the incident. Do not count on the discovery rule to extend your deadline in a typical accident case. Assume the 1-year clock started on the date of the accident and act accordingly.

Claims against Tennessee state and local government entities are governed by the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (TGTLA) under Tenn. Code § 29-20-305. The deadline is 12 months from the date the cause of action arises. While this aligns with the standard 1-year personal injury deadline, government claims come with additional procedural requirements and legal barriers.

The TGTLA also caps the damages recoverable against government entities, and government defendants may raise sovereign immunity defenses that do not apply to private parties. These cases are procedurally and substantively more complex than standard personal injury claims.

If your accident involved a government entity — a city bus, county vehicle, state highway department truck, or any government employee acting within the scope of their duties — consult an attorney immediately. The combination of a 1-year deadline and additional procedural hurdles leaves no room for delay.

Medical malpractice claims in Tennessee operate under a specific timeline defined in Tenn. Code § 29-26-116. The standard deadline is 1 year from the date the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. However, there is a hard outer limit: the statute of repose caps filing at 3 years from the date of the negligent act or omission, regardless of when the injury was discovered.

Two exceptions to the 3-year cap exist. First, if the healthcare provider fraudulently concealed the malpractice, the patient has 1 year from the date they discover the fraud — the 3-year cap does not apply. Second, if a foreign object (such as a surgical instrument) was negligently left in the body, the 1-year period runs from when the object is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.

Tennessee also requires pre-suit notice in medical malpractice cases. Before filing suit, you must provide written notice to the healthcare provider at least 60 days before the complaint is filed. This notice requirement eats into your already tight 1-year deadline, making early action critical.

Beyond the minor tolling rule, Tennessee law provides a few other circumstances where the statute of limitations may be paused. Under Tenn. Code § 28-1-106, the limitations period is also tolled for individuals who have been judicially adjudicated incompetent. The clock is paused until the person's legal rights are restored. Since a 2011 amendment, mere mental incapacity is not sufficient — a court must have formally adjudicated the person as incompetent.

Under Tenn. Code § 28-1-111, if the defendant leaves Tennessee before the plaintiff can serve them with the lawsuit, the time of the defendant's absence from the state does not count toward the limitations period. This prevents defendants from running out the clock by leaving the jurisdiction.

None of these tolling provisions change the fundamental urgency of Tennessee's 1-year deadline. For most injured adults in standard accident cases, the clock starts on the day of the accident and runs for exactly 1 year with no tolling, no extensions, and no second chances.

If you file your personal injury lawsuit even one day after the statute of limitations expires, the defendant will file a motion to dismiss. Tennessee courts enforce these deadlines strictly. The court will almost certainly dismiss the case with prejudice — meaning it is gone permanently. You cannot refile, you cannot appeal the dismissal on the merits, and you cannot recover any compensation for your injuries.

The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense, meaning the defendant must raise it. But they almost always do. No insurance company or defense attorney will overlook a missed deadline. It is the easiest and most complete defense available.

Do not wait until the last month to file. Courts can have filing backlogs, and procedural issues (such as naming the wrong defendant or filing in the wrong court) can cause fatal delays. The safest approach is to consult an attorney early and file well before the deadline. In Tennessee, with only 1 year on the clock, early action is not just advisable — it is necessary.

Tennessee's 1-year statute of limitations is unforgiving. If you were injured in an accident in Tennessee and you are not sure whether your deadline has passed, get your free Injury Claim Check now. You will answer a few questions about your accident and injuries, and we will provide a personalized report that includes your applicable filing deadline, how Tennessee's comparative negligence rule affects your potential recovery, and whether connecting with a Tennessee personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

Every day you wait is a day closer to losing your right to file. Free, confidential, and takes less time than a phone call. Do not let the clock run out.