Tennessee gives you only one year to file a personal injury lawsuit after a car accident. That deadline is among the shortest in the country, and it does not leave room for hesitation. Our Greeneville, TN car accident lawyer has been handling accident claims for more than 30 years. We know how insurance companies operate in Greene County, and we know what it takes to get you fair compensation. Call us for a free consultation.
Mark T. Hurt focuses his practice on serious personal injury cases. He earned his B.S. from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Duke University School of Law. With more than three decades of trial experience, he has represented car accident victims with broken bones, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, and other catastrophic harm.
Payton R. Johnson specializes in personal injury law. He completed his undergraduate degree in economics at Campbell University and earned his J.D. from the Appalachian School of Law. Payton brings a thorough, detail-oriented approach to every case he handles.
The firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients, including a $1.3 million settlement for a car accident involving severe leg and spine fractures, a $725,000 recovery in a wrongful death car crash case, and a $375,000 result for a collision that caused a torn scalp and broken ribs.
We investigate every crash aggressively. That means obtaining the police report, collecting witness statements, preserving surveillance footage, and working with accident reconstruction professionals when needed. We handle communication with insurance companies so you can focus on recovering. Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize payouts. We are trained to prevent that from happening.
Our auto accident attorneys in Greeneville also handle cases involving motorcycle accidents and truck accidents throughout the Greeneville area.
We also know when a case should settle and when it should go to trial. Most car accident claims resolve through negotiation, but the willingness and ability to take a case to a jury is what gives your negotiating position real weight.
We represent car accident victims on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we recover money for you. The initial consultation is free, and we can often determine during that first meeting whether you have a viable claim and roughly what it may be worth.
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“Angela with the social security department was great! She helped get my disability approved after a very bad car wreck. Highly recommend the Mark Hurt Law Firm!” — Susan Hutton
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Roads in and around Greeneville carry significant traffic. Highway 11E, US-321, and the surrounding rural routes see collisions caused by distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving, and reckless behavior. We handle all types of auto accident cases.
Tennessee law imposes a one-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104. You must file your lawsuit within one year of the date of the accident. If you miss that deadline, the court will almost certainly dismiss your case. No exceptions are common.
Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault rule under Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-11-103. If you are found to be 50% or more at fault for the accident, you cannot recover any damages. If your fault is below 50%, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility. For example, if you’re 20% at fault and your damages total $200,000, you would receive $160,000.
Insurance adjusters use comparative fault as a weapon. They’ll try to shift blame onto you for not braking sooner, not wearing a seatbelt, or some other alleged contribution to the crash. Having a car accident attorney in Greeneville, TN who can push back on those arguments with evidence is critical. A thorough police accident report can help establish fault early on.
Tennessee requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, plus $15,000 for property damage. These minimum amounts are often insufficient for serious injuries. If the at-fault driver’s coverage is too low, your own underinsured motorist policy may fill the gap.
After a crash, you should file an accident report with the Tennessee Department of Safety if the collision caused injury, death, or property damage over $400. This report can serve as important evidence in your case.
Tennessee law allows car accident victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include medical bills, future medical costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage. These damages are straightforward to calculate because they are based on receipts, pay stubs, and professional estimates. You may also need to address medical bill liens from your settlement. Tennessee does not cap economic damages, so you can recover the full amount of your proven financial losses.
Non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and physical impairment. Tennessee caps non-economic damages at $750,000 in most personal injury cases under Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-102. For catastrophic injuries involving paralysis, severe burns, or amputation, the cap increases to $1,000,000.
Punitive damages may be available when the defendant’s conduct was especially reckless or intentional. Drunk driving cases, for instance, often justify punitive awards. Tennessee caps punitive damages at the greater of $500,000 or twice the amount of compensatory damages, with some exceptions.
Loss of consortium claims allow a spouse to recover for the impact the injury has had on the marital relationship. These claims are separate from the injured person’s claim but are subject to the same non-economic damages cap.
Future damages deserve particular attention. A serious car accident often results in ongoing medical needs. Surgeries, physical therapy, pain management, and assistive devices all carry long-term costs. We work with medical professionals and economists to project these future expenses so your settlement or verdict reflects what you’ll actually need, not just what you’ve spent so far.
Property damage is a separate claim from your bodily injury claim. Your vehicle’s fair market value or the cost of repairs, rental car expenses, and personal property damaged in the wreck are all recoverable. Many people settle their property damage claim early, but it’s important to keep the bodily injury claim open until you fully understand the scope of your injuries.
If you were injured in a car accident in Greeneville, TN, don’t wait to get legal help. Tennessee’s one-year filing deadline is strict, and evidence deteriorates quickly. Witnesses forget details, surveillance footage gets deleted, and the other driver’s insurance company moves fast to close your claim for as little as possible. Knowing the right steps to take early on can protect your case.
We offer free consultations and handle every car wreck case on contingency. We’ve been representing injured people in Greene County and throughout East Tennessee for over three decades, and we are prepared to put that experience behind your claim from day one.
Contact us today to discuss your case. We respond to all inquiries promptly because we know that every day matters when the clock is ticking on your claim.
“We hired Mr. Hurt to help settle a worker’s comp injury case for my husband. Mark, Bart, and Mary worked tirelessly to resolve his case and reach a settlement we were pleased with. They were always available to answer questions and returned calls in a timely manner.“
