How Long Do You Have to Sue After a Car Accident in Tennessee?
Tennessee’s default deadline for suing over a car accident injury is one year from the date of the crash.
State officials counted an estimated 1,045 traffic deaths across Tennessee in 2025, and every one of those families is racing that same one-year clock.
One year sounds simple, until the calendar starts moving on its own.
A handful of situations push that deadline later, or pull it in sooner than expected.
Missing the right one can end a valid claim before it starts.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines and their exceptions are subject to change.
Tennessee’s One-Year Deadline for Car Accident Injuries
Tennessee sets a one-year deadline for suing over injuries from a car accident, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1).
The clock starts the day of the crash, not the day treatment ends or an insurer denies a claim.
That’s the whole window.
Miss that mark, and a Tennessee court dismisses the case, regardless of how strong the evidence looks.
This one-year rule covers the ordinary car accident claim: Broken bones, whiplash, a wrecked knee, months of physical therapy.
When a Traffic Citation Extends Your Deadline to Two Years
Tennessee’s one-year deadline stretches to two years when the state criminally charges the other driver within that first year, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2).
That includes a traffic citation, not just a full criminal indictment.
Tennessee’s Court of Appeals settled that question in Younger v. Okbahhanes, ruling that a citation for failing to exercise due care counts as a criminal charge under the statute.
The rule has three parts, and all three have to line up.
Law enforcement has to file the charge within that first year. The injured driver then has to sue the exact person who got the ticket, not a trucking company or a passenger who wasn’t cited.
That doubles the clock to two years.
Not every ticket qualifies, either: A citation for a missing registration or a lapsed insurance card doesn’t touch the deadline, since it has nothing to do with causing the crash.
Who the Two-Year Extension Covers
Trace Tennessee’s two-year extension through one date: A crash happens on March 1, 2026, and police cite the other driver within that first year.
The injured driver’s deadline against that one driver moves to March 1, 2028, but a one-year clock against an uninvolved trucking company, a passenger, or a second car never budges.
Three-Year Clock on Vehicle Damage
Tennessee gives three years, not one, to sue over damage to the car itself, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-105.
That’s the property side of the same wreck: The bumper, the frame, the paint job, the totaled sedan sitting in a tow yard.
Property damage and personal injury run on separate clocks in Tennessee, even when they come from the identical accident.
Property damage gets three years instead.
A driver can miss the one-year injury deadline entirely and still have two years left to sue over the car.
Insurance companies typically settle vehicle-damage claims fast, so this three-year window rarely comes into play, but it sits there if a claim stalls or a shop finds hidden frame damage months later.
Psst! How much do you know about Tennessee’s driving rules? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
Tennessee Road Rules Quiz
Answer these questions on Tennessee driving rules. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
When did Tennessee’s hands-free law make it illegal to hold a phone while driving?
Why a Claim Against Your Own Insurer Gets Six Years
Tennessee treats an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim as a contract dispute, not a personal injury case, so it carries a six-year deadline instead of one year.
The lawsuit isn't against the other driver in that scenario.
It's against a driver's own insurance company, over the policy language.
Tennessee's courts settled this starting in 1966, and the Court of Appeals confirmed it again in Bates v. Greene in 2017.
Six years is the number that matters.
That's a long runway compared with the one-year injury clock, but the policy itself sets its own notice rules.
Auto policies typically require quick, written notice of a crash, so waiting years to report an uninsured motorist claim can still cost a driver the coverage, even inside the six-year window.
What Changes When the Injured Driver Is a Minor
Tennessee pauses the lawsuit clock for anyone hurt in a car accident before they turn 18.
Tennessee's one-year deadline doesn't start ticking until the injured minor's 18th birthday, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106.
That generally leaves an injured teen until roughly their 19th birthday to sue over a car accident from years earlier.
For some teens, that's nearly a decade of breathing room.
A parent can still file sooner, on the child's behalf, and often does to avoid losing track of evidence.
Evidence fades either way, so a long legal runway isn't the same as a good reason to wait.
Tennessee court rules also let a parent or guardian step in and file that lawsuit as the child's "next friend," rather than waiting out the full tolling period.
That option matters most when evidence is still fresh, since skid marks fade, witnesses move, and dashcam footage disappears long before a teenager's 19th birthday arrives.
One-Year Deadline After a Fatal Crash
Tennessee gives families one year to file a wrongful-death lawsuit after a fatal car accident, the same window as an ordinary injury claim.
That single year runs from the date of the crash itself, not the date the victim later dies, according to Tennessee courts.
A crash on January 4 that leads to a death on January 11 still carries a filing deadline of the following January 4, not January 11.
Grieving families get that same single year, no more.
Tennesseans dealing with a fatal crash rarely have a full year of clear-headed time to spend on a lawsuit, and the state's preliminary count showed 1,045 traffic deaths in 2025, a 14% drop from the year before.
Tennessee courts allow limited exceptions, like the discovery rule, but they're narrow, so they're never something to bank on.
The Wrongful-Death Clock Doesn't Start at the Funeral
Tennessee's one-year wrongful-death deadline counts from the date of the crash, not the date of the funeral or the date a doctor pronounces a death official.
A family that waits a year after burying a loved one, rather than a year after the wreck itself, can file too late without realizing it.
When the crash and the death happen weeks or months apart, that gap comes straight out of the filing window, not in addition to it.
Psst! How much do you know about America's strangest traffic laws? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
US Traffic Law Quirks
Answer these questions on America's oddest driving rules. We bet you can't get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which state has the highest posted speed limit in the country, at 85 mph?
FAQ
Quick answers to what Tennesseans ask most about car accident lawsuit deadlines.
How long do you have to sue after a car accident in Tennessee?
Tennessee gives injury victims one year from the crash to sue for a personal injury. A criminal charge against the other driver, a claim against your own insurer, or a minor's age can all extend that window.
What happens if you miss Tennessee's car accident deadline?
Missing the deadline generally ends the case for good. Tennessee courts dismiss a personal injury lawsuit filed after the statute of limitations runs out, regardless of how strong the evidence is.
Does Tennessee's deadline change if the other driver got a ticket?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2) extends the deadline to two years when the state criminally charges the other driver, including certain traffic citations, within the first year after the crash.
How long do you have to sue for car damage after a Tennessee accident?
Three years, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-105, separate from the one-year deadline that covers injury claims.
How long does a Tennessee minor have to sue after a car accident?
The one-year deadline generally doesn't start running until the injured minor turns 18, giving them until roughly their 19th birthday to file, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106.
Tennessee law also limits who can file that wrongful-death suit within the one-year window: The deceased driver's personal representative goes first, with the surviving spouse next in line, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-107.
Without a surviving spouse, that right passes to the children or next of kin, so a grieving family has to settle who's filing before the one-year clock runs out.
