A claim number from an insurance adjuster is not the same as a lawsuit, and it does not stop Tennessee’s legal clock. For most ordinary personal-injury claims against someone else, the deadline to start a lawsuit is one year after the claim accrues. The details can change the calculation, so treat the one-year rule as a deadline to protect—not a reason to wait.

The deadline is for filing suit, not opening an insurance claim

Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-3-104 sets a one-year period for actions involving injuries to a person, measured from when the cause of action accrued. The rule applies to many everyday third-party claims: a driver injured in a collision, a customer hurt in a store, or a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. The statute speaks to commencing a civil action. It does not give you a year to finish treatment, complete negotiations, or receive a final offer from an insurance company. The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently quoted and applied the statute in Sandridge v. Mallory.

For a claim that accrues on May 4, use the following May 4 as the working outside date to get the lawsuit started. Do not plan to file on the last day. The precise deadline can depend on how the claim accrued, applicable court rules, holidays, and the parties involved. A claim filed after the applicable limit can be dismissed even if the other side’s insurer has been investigating it, asking for records, or discussing settlement.

There is an important distinction between making a claim and filing a lawsuit. You can report the injury to the at-fault party’s insurer and exchange information without filing suit. Those steps may help move a settlement discussion forward, but they are not a substitute for commencing the case in court before the limitation period expires.

When the one-year clock usually starts

The statute uses the phrase “after the cause of action accrued.” In a typical crash or fall, the injury and its connection to the incident are apparent at the time, so the safest practical approach is to count from the date of the event. Do not assume the clock starts only when a doctor gives you a final diagnosis, when physical therapy ends, or when you know the total cost of treatment.

Tennessee recognizes a discovery rule in some injury cases. In broad terms, the question can be when a person knew, or through reasonable care should have known, of an injury and its connection to wrongful conduct. The rule is not a general extension for someone who already knows they were hurt but is still learning how serious the injury may become. The Tennessee Supreme Court discusses accrual and discovery principles in Redwing v. Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Memphis.

A delayed or hidden injury can make the start date a fact-specific legal question. For example, a person may not immediately connect a later-discovered condition to an earlier event. But a later diagnosis alone does not guarantee extra time. If the injury was noticeable and the responsible conduct was reasonably apparent, a court may find that the clock began earlier than the date the person received a complete medical explanation. Keep records showing when symptoms began, what providers told you, and when you first understood the connection.

A traffic ticket usually does not mean you have two years

There is a narrow statutory exception that can extend the period to two years for certain personal-injury actions. Under § 28-3-104(a)(2), the requirements include criminal charges against a person alleged to have caused or contributed to the injury, a criminal prosecution started within one year over the conduct behind the civil claim, and a civil claim brought by the injured person against the person prosecuted. The statute also directs courts to construe the exception strictly.

That exception is not the same as saying, “The other driver got a ticket, so I have an extra year.” Tennessee appellate decisions distinguish criminal charges based on state law from citations enforcing municipal ordinances. In Younger v. Okbahhanes, the court held that the particular state-law traffic citation at issue qualified. In later cases, courts held that citations for municipal-ordinance violations did not trigger the extension; Sandridge explains that distinction.

The label on a ticket, the law cited, whether a prosecution actually began, and who the civil claim is against can all matter. A police report saying someone was “cited” does not answer those questions. Unless a lawyer has checked the specific charge and the court record, do not use the two-year exception to postpone filing. Work from the ordinary one-year deadline.

What must happen before the deadline

A demand letter, a phone call to an adjuster, or a notice of claim is not the same as filing a complaint in court. Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 3 governs when a civil action is commenced and how the filing interacts with issuance and service of process. The rule’s requirements matter: filing a complaint is not a reason to ignore summons and service steps. The Tennessee courts explain the rule’s operation in Harris v. Marriott.

In practice, the deadline plan should include both the filing date and the steps needed to get the proper defendant served. Identifying the correct party can take investigation. A business may operate under a trade name; a vehicle may be owned by one person and driven by another; or more than one person or company may bear responsibility. A complaint against the wrong party may not protect a claim against the right one. Give the lawyer handling the case enough time to identify defendants, prepare the pleading, file in the proper court, and arrange service.

Do not confuse bodily-injury claims with vehicle or other property-damage claims. Different limitation rules can apply to property damage. A longer period for damage to a car does not extend the deadline for your bodily-injury lawsuit.

Situations that call for a different deadline check

  • A government defendant may be involved. If the possible defendant is a city, county, state agency, or government employee acting in a government role, special statutes, immunity rules, and procedures may apply. Do not assume the ordinary third-party process is enough. Tennessee appellate decisions discuss separate government-claim timing under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act.
  • The injured person is a child or cannot manage legal affairs. Special rules can affect when time runs, but they are not a safe basis for waiting. A parent may also have a separate claim with a different deadline from the child’s claim. Have each claim’s timing checked separately.
  • The injury resulted in a death. A wrongful-death case has its own rules about who may bring the action and how the deadline applies. Do not calculate it from a general bodily-injury rule without checking the circumstances.
  • The claim involves medical care or a latent condition. Special statutes or accrual rules may apply. A medical-provider claim is not simply an ordinary negligence claim with the same procedure.

Those categories are reasons to get a deadline review promptly, not reasons to assume a longer period applies. The date of the incident, the identity of each potential defendant, the type of claim, and any applicable tolling rule should be reviewed together.

How to protect the claim while settlement talks continue

  1. Write down the incident date and a conservative deadline. Mark the one-year anniversary as the working cutoff for an ordinary injury claim. If there is any doubt about the start date, use the earlier plausible date until the issue is reviewed.
  2. Ask the adjuster to confirm the claim status in writing. Keep the claim number, adjuster’s contact details, and copies of letters and emails. Understand that an active insurance file does not, by itself, change the lawsuit deadline.
  3. Do not rely on an informal promise to wait. If settlement discussions need more time, ask whether the proper parties will sign a written tolling agreement. The document should clearly identify the claims and parties covered and the exact period. Do not assume an adjuster has authority to extend the deadline for every person or company involved.
  4. Preserve records as you go. Save photographs, witness names, incident reports, medical records, bills, work-loss information, and messages with the insurer. These materials can help establish what happened, when the injury became apparent, and who may be responsible.
  5. Do not sign a release just to receive an early payment without reading its effect. A settlement release can end the claim it covers. Check whether it resolves only one defendant’s responsibility or also affects claims against other parties before agreeing.
  6. Leave time for court filing and service. A lawsuit is not a demand package. Filing, correct party names, court selection, and service of process require attention, so do not wait until the final weeks to decide whether to file.

If the ordinary deadline has already passed, do not assume the claim is automatically lost or that an exception will save it. The accrual date, identity of the defendant, service history, and any written tolling agreement can matter. Gather the documents and have the specific timeline reviewed quickly; an adjuster’s ongoing conversations are not proof that a lawsuit remains timely.

Two examples of why the details matter

Suppose a driver is rear-ended on May 4 and opens a claim with the other driver’s insurer that week. The adjuster keeps requesting records, and the driver waits for physical therapy to finish. The therapy schedule and claim file do not themselves postpone the one-year deadline. The driver should treat the following May 4 as the working deadline for filing suit unless a valid extension or a different accrual rule has been confirmed.

Now suppose the at-fault driver receives a ticket after a collision. The injured person hears that the ticket “adds a year” and decides not to file until the second year. That assumption can fail if the citation was for a municipal ordinance rather than a criminal charge under state law, or if the other statutory requirements were not met. The safer move is to check the exact charge and case record while preserving the ordinary deadline.

The practical rule to remember

For an ordinary Tennessee third-party bodily-injury claim, assume you have one year from accrual to commence a lawsuit. A pending insurance claim, incomplete medical treatment, or a ticket issued to the other person does not automatically extend that time. Exceptions exist, but they depend on specific facts and statutes. Build the deadline around the ordinary rule, then confirm whether a verified exception changes it before relying on extra time.

Disclaimer: This guide provides general legal information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state and may change over time. The outcome of any legal issue depends on the specific facts, documents, and circumstances involved. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.