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Statute of Limitations Extensions for Brain Injury Victims in Tennessee
Traumatic brain injury cases can be extremely complex, and securing the right legal representation can allow you to focus on your recovery while still knowing that your case is in good hands. Call Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers to set up a time to meet with our brain injury lawyers.
Tennessee’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims
As a general rule, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Tennessee is one year after the cause of action accrues. Filing a complaint generally commences a civil action, but Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 3(opens in new tab) also requires plaintiffs to obtain timely issuance and service—or reissuance—of process to continue relying on the original filing date.
One year is a short deadline. But what happens if you cannot—or do not—file your claim in time? There are situations in which a claim may accrue later or the limitations period may be tolled or extended.
How a brain injury may affect the statute of limitations
One rule that may affect Tennessee’s one-year window in a brain injury claim is the discovery rule. Under that rule, a claim generally accrues when the injured person knows, or in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence should know that they were injured and that the injury was caused by another party’s wrongful conduct. This is not relevant in many cases. For example, if you are in a car accident and you break a leg during it, you know right away that you are injured—the discovery of the injury is immediate.
Traumatic brain injuries are more complicated than many other types of injuries, though. It is entirely possible that a TBI victim would not immediately realize that they suffered an injury in an accident. For example, if they suffered emotional outbursts, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating, they might initially assume that those symptoms were temporary ones caused by the accident. They may not realize that the symptoms indicated a TBI. However, the discovery rule does not wait until the person receives a definitive diagnosis or learns the full extent of the injury.
A caveat: Tennessee courts apply the discovery rule based on when the available facts would put a reasonable person on notice of a potential claim. A brain-injury-related example: a victim is hit by a car and strikes their head. Over the coming weeks or months, they suffer severe headaches, are so emotionally erratic that they are fired from their job, and struggle to recall basic names and dates. At some point, those symptoms may be enough to put a reasonable person on notice of an injury connected to the crash. If the person waits until well after Tennessee’s one-year period to seek a diagnosis or file suit, a court may find that the claim accrued earlier and is time-barred.
The statute of limitations may also be tolled when the injured person was a minor when the claim accrued. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-1-106(opens in new tab), a person who was under 18 at that time may generally file after the disability of minority ends, within the limitations period applicable to the claim.
Tennessee law also permits a two-year period(opens in new tab) in a narrow category of cases in which criminal charges are brought within one year against the person whose alleged conduct caused or contributed to the injury and the injured person sues that prosecuted party. All statutory conditions must be met.
How incapacity may toll the statute of limitations
Severe brain injuries can raise a separate tolling issue: legal incapacity. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-1-106, the limitations period may be tolled if, when the claim accrued, the injured person had been adjudicated incompetent or lacked capacity. For an adjudicated incompetent person, suit may generally be filed after legal rights are restored within the period applicable to the claim; for a person who lacked capacity, the statute sets a similar rule after the incapacity is removed. A brain injury diagnosis by itself does not automatically establish lack of capacity for tolling purposes.
This protection has important limits. If a court-appointed fiduciary or another person already has the legal right to sue for someone who lacks capacity, that representative generally must file within the ordinary deadline and may not rely on tolling unless they prove by clear and convincing evidence that they did not and could not reasonably have known of the claim. A person relying on incapacity also bears the burden of proving the required facts, and Tennessee has specified that incapacity tolling does not affect a statute of repose.
How legal counsel can help
The sooner you begin a claim after suffering a traumatic brain injury, the better off you may be. Connecting with a brain injury lawyer early in the process gives them a chance to gather, preserve, and analyze evidence. The longer a claim goes ignored, the easier it is for evidence to degrade or go missing entirely.
Legal representation is especially important in cases where the statute of limitations has expired. Unless you have a valid reason for filing a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case may be dismissed when the other party raises the defense. As you have seen, there are limited circumstances in which a Tennessean can file a claim outside the general one-year period. Because Tennessee’s rules are fact-specific, a brain injury lawyer can evaluate when the claim accrued, whether disability tolling or the criminal-prosecution extension applies, whether Rule 3 process requirements were met, and whether a claim-specific deadline or statute of repose controls.
Wondering about the statute of limitations in your case? Call Rocky McElhaney Law Firm now
A traumatic brain injury can change your life forever. Give yourself a shot at getting the compensation you need to adjust by reaching out to Rocky McElhaney Law Firm: Car Accident & Injury Lawyers. Call us or connect with us online now.