Overview

Tennessee uses a 1-year statute of limitations for general personal injury and negligence claims, and the default rule here is Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111(e)(2). That means a plaintiff generally has one year from the trigger date to file suit in court.

For a reference page like this, the key point is simple: no claim-type-specific sub-rule was identified for the general personal injury / negligence category, so the 1-year default period is the number to use unless a specific exception applies.

A statute of limitations is the filing deadline, not the deadline to start investigating. Miss the deadline, and the claim can be barred even if the facts are strong. That is why date entry matters so much in a calculator like DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations tool.

Limitation period

Tennessee’s general personal injury / negligence limitation period is 1 year.

In practical terms, the countdown usually starts on the date the claim accrues. For a straightforward negligence claim, that is often the date of the injury or the date the harmful event occurred. If the injury was discovered later, or if a tolling rule applies, the filing deadline can move — but the default period remains 1 year.

Here is the most useful way to think about it:

What the calculator needs

The DocketMath statute-of-limitations calculator uses the date you enter as the starting point and then applies the governing period.

Typical inputs:

• the injury date or incident date
• any known discovery date
• any date tied to a possible tolling event
• the filing date you want to test

How outputs change

Small changes in the input date can change the deadline by a full day or more:

• Entering the incident date usually produces the default one-year deadline.
• Entering a later discovery date may move the deadline if a discovery rule applies.
• Entering a tolling period can extend the calculated deadline.
• Changing the date by even one day can matter when the limitations period is short.

For a one-year period, this precision is especially important. A claim filed on day 366 is generally too late if no exception applies.

Key exceptions

Several doctrines can alter Tennessee filing deadlines, but the default period still remains 1 year unless one of them applies.

Even when the governing period is one year, the final deadline may shift because of tolling, accrual rules, disability, minority, concealment, or a statutory exception tied to the specific claim. Because this reference page is for the general/default category, the safest way to use the calculator is to test the facts against the date rules first.

Common deadline-shifting issues include:

• Discovery-based accrual: If the claim does not accrue until the injury is discovered, the clock may start later than the event date.
• Fraudulent concealment: If the defendant concealed the cause of action, the limitations period may be tolled.
• Minority or incapacity: Certain disabilities can pause the clock.
• Continuous treatment or ongoing conduct: In some fact patterns, the clock may not begin until the conduct ends.
• Procedural tolling events: Bankruptcy stays, statutory stays, or other legal pauses can affect the deadline.

A practical checklist helps:

If your matter involves a specific injury type, a government defendant, a minor, or a discovery issue, the general one-year rule may not be the full story. The calculator is still useful because it lets you test alternate dates and see how the deadline moves under each scenario.

Statute citation

The jurisdiction data provided for this category cites Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2), and the general/default period listed is 1 year.

For reference purposes, the citation is:

• **Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111(e)(2)

The source provided for this citation is:

• https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-40/chapter-35/part-1/section-40-35-111/

When you are building a deadline analysis, the citation matters for two reasons:

1. it anchors the rule to the actual statute, and
2. it gives users a source they can check against the calculator output.

For a reference page, keep the distinction clear:

• statute citation = the legal anchor
• limitation period = the time allowed
• calculator result = the computed deadline based on the input date

That structure makes the page easier to verify and easier to use in practice.

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator to test the 1-year Tennessee deadline against your specific dates.

The calculator is most helpful when the trigger date is not obvious or when you want to see how an exception changes the filing deadline. Start with the date you believe begins the limitations period, then compare the output to the planned filing date.

How to use it

1. Open the statute-of-limitations tool.
2. Enter the key date for the claim.
3. Add any known discovery or tolling dates.
4. Review the calculated deadline.
5. Compare the output to your target filing date.

What to watch in the output

• the starting date
• the length of the period
• the calculated deadline
• whether any entered tolling facts change the result

Best use cases

• checking a straightforward injury date
• testing a discovery-date scenario
• confirming whether a one-year deadline has already passed
• comparing multiple possible accrual dates in the same matter

A calculator like this is useful because the deadline is often date-sensitive, not theory-sensitive. The output changes when the input changes, and that can make a real difference in a one-year jurisdiction.

Related reading

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