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★ Tennessee · back & spine

Back & spine settlements
in Tennessee.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

A Tennessee back injury claim runs on a short clock and a firm ceiling. You usually have one year to sue, and pain and suffering is capped at $750,000 unless a spinal cord injury leaves you paralysed, in which case the cap rises to $1 million.

Facts that decide a back & spine claim in Tennessee

Deadline to sueOne year from the injury. It becomes two years when the other driver was charged or cited over the crash; the Court of Appeals applied that in 2021 to a citation for failing to exercise due care.Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2); Younger v. Okbahhanes (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021)
Cap on pain and suffering$750,000 per injured person for all noneconomic loss. Medical bills and lost earnings are not capped. The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the cap in 2020.Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-102(a)(2); McClay v. Airport Mgmt. Servs. (Tenn. 2020)
When the cap is $1 millionOnly for a catastrophic injury. In a spine case that means a spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia. A herniated disc or a fusion stays under the $750,000 cap.Public Chapter 510 (2011), § 29-39-102(d)
A spouse shares the capA husband or wife claiming loss of consortium does not get a second $750,000. Both claims share one cap.Yebuah v. Center for Urological Treatment (Tenn. 2021)
Medical bills the jury seesThe full billed amount for your spine care, not the lower figure your health insurer actually paid.Dedmon v. Steelman (Tenn. 2017)
Fault ruleYour award is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing once your fault reaches 50%.McIntyre v. Balentine (Tenn. 1992), applied in Binns v. Trader Joe’s East (Tenn. 2024)
Minimum liability insurance$25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries, often far below the value of a surgical back claim.Tennessee Department of Revenue, Financial Responsibility Law
Not wearing a seat beltGenerally cannot be used to reduce your award.Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-604
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★ TN · reported back & spine outcomes

What Tennessee courts have awarded.

Real Tennessee decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Borne v. Celadon Trucking Services
    Tennessee Supreme Court · 2017
    $3,705,000 jury verdict

    A truck driver rear ended on the interstate in Memphis developed low back and neck pain, and an MRI showed a central disc herniation at L4-5. The trial judge cut the verdict to $2,100,000. The Supreme Court held the Court of Appeals had no power to cut it further and sent the case back so the trial judge could explain the reduction.

  • Meals v. Ford Motor Co.
    Tennessee Supreme Court · 2013
    $43.8 million verdict; Ford’s 15% share $6,570,000

    A child was left paralysed from the waist down after a crash; the claim against Ford was that the seat belt design was defective and lacked a proper warning. The Court of Appeals had cut the award; the Supreme Court reinstated the jury verdict in full. The crash came before the 2011 cap.

★ TN · back & spine · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a back & spine settlement in Tennessee.

  1. 1

    Serious Tennessee back claims are negotiated with the $750,000 cap in view, even when a jury might award more. In Borne the jury’s figures for pain, permanent injury, and loss of enjoyment of life came to $2,250,000 before the judge stepped in, and the same figures on a claim arising after October 2011 would have been capped at $750,000.

  2. 2

    Imaging drives the value. A strain with normal scans rarely settles high, while a documented herniation that needs injections or surgery moves the claim into six or seven figures. Borne turned on an MRI taken months after the crash showing an L4-5 herniation, and the defense argued it was only a strain. Get the scan early and keep treatment continuous.

  3. 3

    The medical bills work harder in Tennessee than in many states. Because Dedmon lets the jury see the full billed amount, a spine surgery billed at a large figure counts at that figure even if your insurer paid far less. That raises the economic side of the claim, which the cap does not touch.

  4. 4

    The one year deadline catches people who are still in treatment. If the other driver was cited or charged, the deadline may be two years, but check the citation in the court file rather than assume it.

★ TN · statute of limitations
1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the US

Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104

★ TN · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault under McIntyre v. Balentine (1992).

★ TN · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a back & spine settlement in Tennessee.

★ back & spine · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Tennessee's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for back & spine claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationBack & spine page
Tennessee · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the US—
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · back & spine →
VirginiaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryVA · back & spine →
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · back & spine →
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · back & spine →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · back & spine →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · back & spine →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · back & spine →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · back & spine →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · back & spine →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · back & spine →
VermontModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryVT · back & spine →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · back & spine →
★ TN · back & spine · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-28.

★ all of TN
Tennessee overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Tennessee as a whole.

★ national frame
Back & spine in United States

Back & spine band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Back & spine · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of back & spine bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Tennessee. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.