Why write a column on such a simple topic? Any personal injury or wrongful death lawyer with walking around sense knows the answer to this question, right?

But the answer to this question is not a “gimme.”¹ I plugged the following prompt into ChatGPT 4o mini: “What is the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases in Tennessee?" Answer: “In Tennessee, the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases is typically one year from the date of the person’s death. This means that a lawsuit for wrongful death must be filed within one year of the date on which the deceased person passed away. There are exceptions and specific details that could affect this timeline, so it’s a good idea to consult with a legal professional to get advice tailored to your particular situation.”²

This answer is wrong, as are the answers to the same inquiry on the websites of 50% or more of the lawyers on page 1 of Google.³

Here is the law: Subject to a couple of exceptions, the Tennessee statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is one year from the date of the injury that resulted in death.⁴ This rule is derived from the statute of limitations for personal injury cases; there is no specific statute of limitations for wrongful death cases.⁵

So, if a person is injured in a car wreck on Sept. 1, and dies the same day, the one-year statute of limitations expires one year later.

Suppose a person is injured in a car wreck on Sept. 1 and dies on Sept. 2. In that case, the one-year statute of limitations begins to run (“accrues”) on the date of the injury, not the date of death, and expires on the one-year anniversary date of the injury, not the one-year anniversary of the date of death.

If a person is injured in a car wreck on Sept. 1 and dies nine months later because of injuries received in the wreck, the statute of limitations expires on Sept. 1, 2025, not one year after the date of death.

So, the answer from ChatGPT and some lawyer websites is correct only if the injury and death occur on the same day, which is possible but not hardly a universal occurrence. Advice that the statute of limitations begins to run on the date of death could result in a late filing of a complaint, particularly in those cases where the date of death is weeks or months after the date of the injury which caused the death. It can also mislead a lay person into thinking they have more time than they have to take legal action in a wrongful death case.

Despite the general rule that minors benefit from added time to bring a claim for personal injuries, the one-year-from-date-of-injury rule also applies if the decedent was a minor⁶ or the only beneficiary of the wrongful death claim is a minor.⁷

There are several exceptions to the one-year-from-date-of-injury rule. First, if the decedent had been adjudicated incompetent at the time of the injury that later caused the death, the special rules applicable to incompetents apply.⁸

Second, if the injury and death were caused by a person whose conduct gave rise to certain criminal charges, the time to file suit may be extended.⁹

Third, if the death arose out of a sexual assault, the longer statute of limitations provided by Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-116 applies.¹⁰

Finally, the discovery rule applies to wrongful death cases.¹¹ Application of the discovery rule in death cases is even more complicated than it is in the typical personal injury case, because the courts will explore not only the state of knowledge¹² of the decedent but also the state of knowledge of the wrongful death plaintiff on the issue of when the duty of inquiry was triggered.¹³ If the discovery rule permits the claim to be filed more than one year after the injury that caused the death, a statute of repose may still bar the claim.¹⁴

So, were you one of those thinking “John Day must be busy — his article addressed a gimme issue?” And are you now thinking, “that gimme may help me avoid a gotcha?” |||

JOHN A. DAY is a personal injury and wrongful death lawyer with offices in Brentwood, Murfreesboro and Nashville. He believes in the adage that golf is a good walk spoiled, and a golfing opponent who would give him a gimme on a putt of any length would be extremely generous or a fool. He is the author of Tennessee Wrongful Death Law, Tennessee’s leading (albeit only) book on the subject.

NOTES

1. A “gimme” is a term used in sports, particularly but not exclusively golf, indicating that a thing is easy to perform. In friendly golf, one often concedes short putts to an opponent as a “gimme.”
2. Search performed in Brentwood, Tennessee on July 30, 2024.
3. Search performed in Brentwood, Tennessee on July 30, 2024. Here is an example of how the website of one Middle Tennessee purports to state Tennessee law: “When a person passes away due to someone’s negligence or misconduct, the surviving family members may pursue compensation on the person’s behalf. In most cases, the victim’s next of kin must file a lawsuit within one year of the date of the person’s death, rather than the date of the accident.”
4. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(1). Jones v. Black, 539 S.W.2d 123 (Tenn. 1976); Hooper v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 682 S.W.2d 505 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1984). Note that the health care liability statute of limitations is governed by a separate statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116, which may be extended if proper notice is given under § 29-26-121.
5. Holliman v. McGrew, 343 S.W.3d 68, 74 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009).
6. Collier v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water Div., 657 S.W.2d 771, 774 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1983).
7. Lynn v. City of Jackson, 63 S.W.3d 332, 335 (Tenn. 2001). Since a minor cannot file a lawsuit, the application of this rule can result in severe injustice. Day, J. A., Tennessee Wrongful Death Law, Section 3.6A, page 81 (2023) discusses this potential for injustice.
8. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-1-106. This statute has been amended several times in the last decade and the exact state of the law is uncertain.
9. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2).
10. If the death was caused by sexual misconduct by a therapist, a different statute of limitations applies. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-209.
11. The discovery rule in health care liability cases is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116 (a)(2). In other types of personal injury and wrongful death cases, the rule is fully explained in Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for Diocese of Memphis, 363 S.W3d 436, 458-467 (Tenn. 2012).
12. By “state of knowledge,” I refer to not only the actual knowledge of decedent or wrongful death plaintiff but also constructive knowledge, which arises whenever the person becomes aware or reasonably should have become aware of facts sufficient to put a reasonably person on notice make inquiry whether an injury or death occurred because of wrongful conduct. See, e.g., Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for Diocese of Memphis, 363 S.W3d 436, 458-467 (Tenn. 2012).
13. See, e.g., Grosell v. Ashland Chemical Inc., 674 S.W.2d 737 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1984) (looking at the knowledge of the wrongful death plaintiff); Holiman v. McGrew, 345 S.W.3d 68 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009) (referencing conversations between the decedent and the plaintiffs, as well as a family journal, as proving a level of knowledge that barred the claim under the discovery rule); Huffman v. Baldwin, 1996 WL 134949 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1996) (mother’s claim for wrongful death of child against one defendant time-barred because of failure to exercise due diligence to identify that defendant’s existence); Craig v. R.R. Street, 794 S.W.2d 351 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1990) (knowledge of decedent and plaintiff considered in determination that claim was time-barred).
14. For example, if the death was caused by the negligence of a health care provider, a claim against the provider is subject to both a one-year statute of limitations and three-year statute of repose. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116 (a)(1) and (3). A statute of repose defense can also trump a lawsuit which is timely filed within one year of the date of the injury which resulted in death and not under the discovery rule.