Tennessee Car Accident Law

Tennessee Car Accident Fault

Tennessee has adopted the Proportional Comparative Fault at 50% standard of negligence. Proportional Comparative Fault at 50% means that if the injured party is 50% or more at fault in the car accident, he is absolutely barred from recovery for the other driver’s negligence.

TENNESSEE CAR INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITS

Tennessee Bodily Injury Liability Minimum Coverage

Personal Injury (single passenger): $25,000 in coverage for injury to an individual.

Personal Injury (multiple passengers): $50,000 in coverage for the driver and passengers in the car at the time of the accident.

Property Damage: $10,000 of minimum coverage.

Tennessee Small Claims Limit: Car accident claims under $15,000 should be filed in Small Claims Court. However, in counties with a population greater than 700,000, car accident claims under $25,000 should be filed in Small Claims Court.

Tennessee Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Tennessee is 1 year from the date the injury occurred, or the time the injury was discovered if it could not have been immediately discovered.

Tennessee Statutes Online: Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 28-3-101 and following (Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury); Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-12 (Insurance Requirements); Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 16-15-5 (Small Claims Limits); Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 9-8-301 (Claims against government claims through Tennessee Claims Commission).

TENNESSEE CAR ACCIDENT REPORTS

Tennessee Police Reports: If the car accident was investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, you can request a police report of the car accident by contacting the office in the county where the crash occurred. If the car accident was investigated by an agency other than the Tennessee Highway Patrol, you should contact the agency that investigated the car accident.

DMV: Tennessee requires that you notify the police and the Tennessee Department of Safety within 20 days of the car accident if the car accident resulted in more than $400 in property damage, injury, or death. You can complete a Car Accident Report and mail it to the Tennessee Department of Safety.

Insurance Notification: You should notify your auto insurance company of a car accident as soon as possible. In addition, your insurance company may have specific notification requirements, so you should check your insurance policy for these notice requirements.