Knoxville Personal Injury Lawyers Explain Damage Caps

How Tennessee’s laws can affect the compensation you receive in an injury claim or lawsuit

When you file a claim or lawsuit, you can seek compensation for certain types of losses (damages). However, the State of Tennessee has put limits, or caps, on how much compensation you are entitled to receive. At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville personal injury lawyers fight for all the compensation our clients are entitled to claim and explain how damage caps can affect your overall award so you are prepared for the future.

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What are the economic damages in Knoxville personal injury cases?

Economic damages in personal injury cases are damages that can be calculated. These damages include:

  • All your current and future medical bills. These expenses cover your emergency transport, ER care, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, rehabilitative therapy, medications, and assistive devices.
  • All your current and future income losses. This amount includes your salary, business income, and any other income you can’t earn due to your inability to work, including lost income if you can never work again. This amount also includes the value of your health insurance (paid through work) and any other work benefits.
  • Any property damage. Generally, this amount covers the cost to fix or replace your vehicle depending on the extent of the damage to your vehicle.

What are the non-economic damages in Knoxville personal injury cases?

Non-economic damages cover the personal part of your claim – the part that can’t be determined by reviewing bills, financial statements, repair estimates, or any other calculations. Non-economic damages include:

  • Your pain and suffering. This amount pays for every ache and pain, and every moment of anxiety and depression.
  • Scarring and disfigurement. This amount covers the psychological help you need to adjust emotionally to your scars.
  • Loss of consortium. This amount is compensation for your inability to enjoy marital relations with your spouse.

Non-economic damages also include the loss of enjoyment of life.

Are there any caps on economic damages?

Tennessee does not have caps for your economic damages. You are permitted to recover the cost of all your medical care, lost income (including future losses), and property damage.

Are there any caps on non-economic damages in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee law caps your economic damages. Generally, your non-economic damages are capped at $750,000. If you have a “catastrophic injury,” the cap amount is $1,000,000. These caps do not apply to your spouse’s separate loss of consortium claim.

Many factors must be considered. At Banks & Jones, our Knoxville damage cap lawyers understand how these factors affect your right to compensation. These damage cap factors include the following considerations:

  • The cap amount is for each plaintiff. If, for example, you and your spouse are in a car accident caused by a speeding driver, you’re entitled to your non-economic damages up to the cap limit and your spouse is entitled to his/her non-economic damages up to the cap limit.
  • Multiple defendants. The cap limit is not multiplied by the number of responsible defendants. Instead, your non-economic damages are apportioned based on the comparative fault of each defendant. The amount of your recovery is also reduced by your comparative fault.
  • A catastrophic injury is defined as:
    • Spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia
    • Amputation of two (2) hands, two (2) feet or one (1) of each
    • Third-degree burns over forty percent (40%) or more of the body as a whole, or third-degree burns up to forty percent (40%) percent or more of the face
    • Wrongful death of a parent, leaving a surviving minor child or children for whom the deceased parent had lawful rights of custody or visitation.

The jury does not apply the caps. The jury places a full number, even if it’s much more than the cap limit. The judge then reduces the non-economic damage award based on Tennessee’s cap law.

Are there any exceptions to the damage cap limits in Tennessee?

Yes. Personal injury victims and wrongful death claimants in Knoxville are not subject to caps on their non-economic damages under certain conditions, including:

  • The defendant had the “specific intent” to cause serious physical injury.
  • The defendant tried to avoid liability by intentionally falsifying, destroying, or concealing records that contained material evidence.
  • The “defendant was under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other intoxicant or stimulant, resulting in the defendant’s judgment being substantially impaired, and causing the injuries or death.” This factor doesn’t apply if the defendant was using legally prescribed drugs. If the actions of the defendant led to his or her felony conviction.

Spouses may also be exempt. In 2021, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the $750,000 cap on non-economic damages applies separately to spouses. In the case under review, a woman was awarded $4,000,000 for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life for medical malpractice. The husband was awarded $500,000 for loss of consortium. The Supreme Court ruled that the trial court correctly reduced the wife’s award to $750,000 and that the husband should still receive $500,000.

Our Knoxville injury lawyers will explain what other factors may affect the amount of your claim for non-economic damages.

Do you have a Tennessee personal injury lawyer near me?

At Banks & Jones, we meet personal injury victims and families at our Knoxville office located at 2125 Middlebrook Pike. If you’re too ill or immobile to come to our office, we can make alternate arrangements, including visiting you at a hospital and talking by phone or video.

We’ll answer all your personal injury questions including questions about non-economic damage caps. We will Fight 2 Win you all the compensation you deserve.

Got questions about damage caps? Our Knoxville injury lawyers can help

In most personal injury cases, the non-economic damages are worth much more than the economic damage. Every moment that you’re in pain or despair is traumatic. Every traumatic moment should be worth money when someone acts irresponsibly. At Banks & Jones, we understand your pain and suffering. We fight to hold defendants liable to the full extent of Tennessee law. Please call us or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation with a Knoxville injury lawyer today.