The multiplier method with Tennessee's actual rules applied: modified comparative, 50% bar, a 1-year filing window. Every statute cited and linked, every line of arithmetic shown.
Based on the multiplier method used by insurers and attorneys. This is an educational estimate, not legal advice. Every claim is different.
You recover only while your fault stays under 50%. At exactly 50% you recover nothing. Below that, your award is reduced by your percentage. (McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992))
1 year from the injury, among the shortest deadlines in the country (2 years if the at-fault driver is criminally charged within the first year) (Tenn. Code Ann. §28-3-104). The clock is jurisdictional. One day late and no court will hear the case.
At-fault state. The negligent driver's insurer pays, subject to the 50% bar. (Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 55, ch. 12)
Minimum liability coverage: 25/50/25, meaning $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, $25,000 property damage. (Tenn. Code Ann. §55-12-102) Policy limits are the practical ceiling on most settlements, which is why identifying every available policy (including your own underinsured-motorist coverage) matters.
Tennessee's 1-year filing deadline is the trap that ends more claims than any adjuster tactic. Treatment often isn't even finished before the clock runs out. The counterweight: hit by a drunk driver, and the damage caps disappear entirely (§29-39-102(h)).
The same multiplier method used everywhere, so (medical bills + lost wages) × a 1.5–5× severity multiplier + property damage. Then Tennessee's fault rule is applied: You recover only while your fault stays under 50%. At exactly 50% you recover nothing. Below that, your award is reduced by your percentage. The calculator on this page runs exactly that math and prints every line.
1 year from the injury, among the shortest deadlines in the country (2 years if the at-fault driver is criminally charged within the first year) (Tenn. Code Ann. §28-3-104). Miss the deadline and the claim is barred permanently, no matter how strong it is. Claims against government entities often have much shorter notice requirements.
At-fault state. The negligent driver's insurer pays, subject to the 50% bar.
Non-economic damages: Capped at $750,000 per plaintiff ($1,000,000 for catastrophic injuries: paralysis, double amputation, severe burns, or death of a parent of minor children). The cap vanishes if the defendant was drunk, intended the harm, destroyed evidence, or was convicted of a felony for the conduct. Punitive damages: Greater of 2× compensatory damages or $500,000, applied in state court, though a federal appeals court has held the cap unconstitutional (Lindenberg, 6th Cir. 2018), so venue matters. Suing the government: GTLA claims are effectively capped at $300,000 per person / $700,000 per accident.