Car Accidents in Nashville: 2023 Data and How a Claim Works

NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System records every fatal crash on public roads. For 2023, crashes coded to Nashville, whose metropolitan government covers Davidson County, account for 110 deaths in 100 fatal crashes. Memphis, at 244, is the state's outlier, but Nashville's count is high for a city of its size and above Atlanta's 84.

The pattern is night and weekend driving on the pikes. Seventy-two of 100 fatal crashes occurred in dark conditions, and 50 were on a Saturday or Sunday, a weekend share no other top-25 city matches. Only 21 were intersection-related, among the lowest shares in the country. The most common first harmful event, 69 crashes, was something other than hitting another moving vehicle, a fixed object, a rollover or a pedestrian. Head-on crashes, 8, were notable for a city this size.

Thirty-three fatal crashes involved a pedestrian or cyclist, a third of the total. The pikes, long radial arterials with wide lanes, few crossings and commercial strips on both sides, are where most of those happened. FARS counts fatal crashes only; injury crashes in Davidson County, reported through the Tennessee Department of Safety, number in the tens of thousands per year.

FARS roadway coding identifies where fatal crashes concentrated in 2023. Nashville's pikes, the old turnpike roads radiating from downtown, dominate.

• Nolensville Pike (US-31A / SR-11): 7 fatal crashes on the corridor through South Nashville.
• Dickerson Pike (US-31W / SR-11): 6 fatal crashes through the north of the county.
• Murfreesboro Pike (US-41 / SR-1): 10 fatal crashes across two codings of the same road, which together would lead the list.
• I-40: 5 fatal crashes.
• I-65: 5 fatal crashes.

Tennessee's statute of limitations for personal injury is one year from the date of injury under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104, the shortest general deadline in the United States. A Nashville crash victim still in treatment at month ten, which is normal after surgery or a disc injury, must have a lawsuit on file in Davidson County Circuit Court by month twelve or the claim is gone, however strong it was.

Insurers know this. A claim kept friendly and open past the anniversary of the crash has ended, and the adjuster has no duty to warn you. Negotiations, accepted fault and incomplete treatment do not extend the deadline. The practical sequence for a serious Nashville claim is to demand by month eight or nine and file by month eleven if there is no settlement.

Wrongful death claims are generally one year from the death. Claims against Metro Nashville, the State of Tennessee or WeGo Public Transit for a road defect or a government vehicle fall under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, which has its own one-year limit, damage caps and procedural requirements.

Suppose you were a passenger in a rideshare on Nolensville Pike late on a Saturday night when a driver crossed the center line and struck your vehicle head-on. You suffered a fractured femur requiring surgery and a lacerated liver, with $160,000 in medical bills and six months off work. The other driver was arrested for impairment.

Fault was not disputed. The impaired driver carried Tennessee's $25,000 minimum liability limit, paid within weeks. Because you were a rideshare passenger on a trip, the underinsured motorist coverage on the rideshare company's policy, which the companies provide in many states for passengers on a trip, was confirmed to apply in this hypothetical, and that policy became the main source of recovery; whether it applies in a given state and period has to be checked against the policy. A dram shop investigation of the bar that served the driver began in the first week, with preservation letters for receipts and surveillance, because that claim had the same one-year clock and evidence that disappears in days.

Surgery was at week one, rehabilitation ran to month six, and the orthopedic surgeon's permanency report came at month eight. The demand to the rideshare carrier went out at month nine, and the lawsuit against the driver and the bar was filed at month eleven to preserve both claims while negotiations continued. A punitive damages claim against the impaired driver personally was pleaded but was expected to be uncollectible. All figures are hypothetical.

Nashville's crashes are night and weekend crashes on the pikes, and the deadline sets the pace of everything after.

• Get the Metro Nashville Police Department report number; Tennessee crash reports are available through the Department of Safety's online system.
• Photograph the scene, lighting, lane markings and vehicles; most Nashville fatal crashes are at night and visibility is a common argument.
• If impairment is suspected, note where the other driver had been and tell an attorney immediately so dram shop evidence can be preserved.
• Get witness names; head-on and run-off-road crashes on the pikes often have few.
• Report to your own insurer the same day and confirm your uninsured and underinsured motorist limits in writing; Tennessee's $25,000 minimum is common.
• Get medical care within a day and keep every record; the one-year deadline means the medical picture must be built fast.
• Calendar the one-year anniversary of the crash as the date by which a lawsuit must be filed if the claim is not settled.

Tennessee is a fault state, not no-fault. The at-fault driver's liability insurer is the primary source of recovery, and medical payments coverage on your own policy, if purchased, pays early bills. Tennessee's minimum liability coverage is $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage must be offered but can be rejected, and whether you have it is the first question after a serious Nashville crash.

Fault follows modified comparative negligence with a 50 percent bar: you recover if you were less than 50 percent at fault, reduced by your share, and nothing at 50 percent or more. The injury deadline is one year under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104, with three years for property damage. Claims against Metro Nashville, the State of Tennessee or WeGo fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act with its own limits.

Crashes in Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner Counties follow the same Tennessee rules. Clarksville, to the northwest, recorded 31 deaths in 2023 on its own. Workers' compensation for a crash on the job requires notice to the employer within 15 calendar days and a claim within one year, administered by the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

A Nashville claim runs on the shortest clock in the country in a city where the at-fault driver often carries minimum limits and the crash often happened at night on a pike with no witnesses. The questions to answer early are where the money is, meaning the other driver's limits, your own coverage and any rideshare or dram shop source, and whether the fault evidence will hold under Tennessee's 50 percent rule. Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in Tennessee, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say what the claim is worth. If you were hurt in a crash in Nashville or Davidson County, you can request a free claim review.

• Car Accident Claims in the United States: The Complete Guide
• Pedestrian Accident Claims: Rights, Fault and Compensation
• Wrongful Death Claims: Who Can File, Deadlines and Damages
• At Fault in a Car Accident? Comparative Negligence Explained
• What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement? What Sets the Value
• Back and Neck Injury Settlement After a Car Accident: Factors
• Bicycle Accident Claim: Hit by a Car While Riding
• Can I Sue for a Slip and Fall? Premises Liability Explained
• Can I Sue My Employer for a Work Injury? Workers' Comp vs Lawsuit

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