Tennessee Burn Injury Lawyer: Your Rights After a Burn

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By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a burn in Tennessee

1. Get emergency care. Tennessee’s ABA-verified centers are in Memphis and Nashville (see the table below).
2. Save the evidence. Keep the device, container or clothing involved, and photograph the burn at each stage of healing.
3. Ask for footage. Restaurants, stores and apartment buildings often record over video, so request in writing that it be kept.
4. Write it down. Note the date, the time, who was there and what anyone said about the cause.
5. Watch the calendar. With a one-year clock, waiting to see how the wound heals can cost you the claim.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office posts fire death figures and a fatality dashboard on its Fire Fatalities and Mortality Rate in Tennessee page. For lawyer referrals, the Tennessee Bar Association says it does not run a referral service and points to local bar associations in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Memphis.

The deadline to file in Tennessee

Statute links on this page go to Justia’s copy of the 2025 Tennessee Code. The official code is on the state’s public-access portal, which has no links to single sections.

The general rule is one year for personal injury under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a). The period becomes two years when criminal charges are brought against the person who caused the injury, the prosecution is started within one year, and the injured person sues that same party.

Under McCroskey v. Bryant Air Conditioning Co., 524 S.W.2d 487 (Tenn. 1975), a tort claim accrues when the injury occurs or is discovered, or when reasonable care and diligence would have discovered it.

Government defendants bring their own limits. A suit against a city, county or other local government under the Governmental Tort Liability Act must be commenced within 12 months after the cause of action arises (§ 29-20-305(b)). For the State, a written notice of claim goes to the Division of Claims and Risk Management within the applicable statute of limitations; this is the Tennessee Claims Commission process (§ 9-8-402).

How fault works in Tennessee

Tennessee adopted modified comparative fault in McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992). As long as your negligence stays below the defendant’s, you can recover, with the award reduced by your share. At 50% or more, you are barred.

That line is sharp. Picture a tenant burned when an old wall heater ignites a curtain. If the jury splits fault 50/50 between tenant and landlord, the tenant gets nothing. If it finds the tenant 45% responsible, the tenant recovers 55% of the damages.

Damages and caps in Tennessee

Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently or recklessly (§ 29-39-104(a)(5)).

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-104(a)(5), (a)(7). The impaired-defendant exception can matter after a crash that ends in a vehicle fire. This page does not cover other Tennessee damages limits, including any that apply to claims against health care providers; ask a Tennessee lawyer about those.

Burns at work in Tennessee

Workers’ compensation rights and remedies exclude all other remedies against the employer under § 50-6-108(a). The Tennessee Supreme Court allows a narrow exception only when the employer actually intended to injure the worker; gross or even criminal negligence is not enough (Valencia v. Freeland & Lemm Constr. Co., 108 S.W.3d 239 (Tenn. 2003)).

Other parties can still be sued. Under § 50-6-112, an injured worker may sue a third party who is legally liable, such as the maker of a faulty boiler or a separate company whose crew caused a flash fire. The employer has a subrogation lien on that recovery for benefits it paid.

Burn centers in Tennessee

The ABA lists three Tennessee burn centers: two ABA-verified, in Memphis and Nashville, and a third in Nashville that is listed but not verified.

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

Who may be liable for a burn

Look past the obvious defendant. An apartment owner may be responsible for faulty wiring or an unsafe heater. A subcontractor working alongside your employer at a plant may have caused a blast. A manufacturer can answer for a water heater or battery that failed. A gas utility may be at fault for a leak, and a restaurant for a drink served too hot. The CPSC says most adults suffer third-degree burns from 150°F water in two seconds and urges setting water heaters to 120°F (CPSC).

How Beverly Law helps in Tennessee

Beverly Law is a California firm whose attorneys hold licenses in California and Washington. When the burn happened in Tennessee, the firm works with licensed Tennessee attorneys through its referral network. After a free case review, you will usually be connected with a Tennessee-licensed burn injury attorney within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · Kentucky · Georgia

This page is general information about Tennessee law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; a lawyer licensed in Tennessee can tell you how they apply to your case.

Common questions

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Burn Injury Lawyer

Important: Attorney Advertising. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Beverly Law is a California firm whose attorneys are licensed in California and Washington; for injuries in other states it works with attorneys licensed there through its referral network. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.