Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability / Slip and Fall in Tennessee

Overview

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Statute Of Limitations calculator.

In Tennessee, the statute of limitations (SOL) for premises liability / slip-and-fall injury claims is 1 year under the general/default rule in Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2).

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator lets you convert that 1-year rule into a workable deadline you can track. Because SOL timelines are time-sensitive, the most important step is getting the SOL “start date” input right—then counting forward to your likely filing deadline.

Limitation period

Tennessee’s general/default period for the premises liability / slip-and-fall timing addressed here is 1 year.

Based on the jurisdiction data provided for this article:

• General SOL Period: 1 year
• General Statute: **Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2)
• Sub-rule availability: The provided materials did not identify a claim-type-specific sub-rule. So, you should treat § 40-35-111(e)(2) as the default rule for this reference page.

How the 1-year SOL typically functions

SOL calculations usually turn on a trigger date—often tied to the date of the incident or injury. In practice, the “right” trigger date can become contested (for example, if injuries worsen or become noticeable later).

To keep your planning practical, use DocketMath in a “best available facts” way:

• Start date input: the date of the slip/fall (or the date you believe legally functions as the SOL trigger)
• Filing date: a target date to test whether a filing likely falls inside or outside the SOL window
• Day-count sensitivity: a difference of days can matter when you’re near the deadline

Example timeline (illustrative)

If the slip and fall occurred on March 1, 2026, a 1-year deadline under the general framework would generally land around March 1, 2027. The exact outcome can depend on how courts apply the counting method and what date is treated as the trigger.

DocketMath can help you visualize how changing the start date moves the deadline.

Key exceptions

Even when the general rule is 1 year, SOL outcomes can shift if an exception or tolling concept applies to the facts of the situation. Exceptions are typically fact-specific and may involve separate statutory provisions or legal doctrines.

Common categories that may affect timing include:

• Tolling due to special circumstances

  • Some legal or status-based conditions may pause (“toll”) the SOL clock.
• Discovery-related adjustments

  • In some contexts, the relevant timing may relate to when an injury was discovered or reasonably discoverable rather than the incident date.
• Claims involving government entities or special statutory regimes

  • Claims against public entities can involve different procedural requirements and, in some situations, different limitation schemes.

What you can do to reduce uncertainty

If you’re not sure which date will be treated as the trigger, run multiple scenarios in DocketMath using different plausible start dates, such as:

• the incident date,
• the date you first sought medical treatment,
• the date of a diagnosis linked to the incident,
• the date you became aware of a work/medical limitation tied to the incident.

Comparing outputs shows how sensitive the deadline is to the trigger date you choose.

Statute citation

This reference page uses the following general/default SOL period:

• Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2) — 1 year (general/default rule used for the timing scenario described here)

Justia source (as provided in the jurisdiction data):
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-40/chapter-35/part-1/section-40-35-111/

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations tool to turn the 1-year rule into specific dates you can track:

Start here: /tools/statute-of-limitations

DocketMath inputs to consider

While different calculators may label inputs slightly differently, SOL tools typically require you to enter:

• Start date (the date you’re treating as the SOL trigger)
• Time period (here, set to 1 year, consistent with § 40-35-111(e)(2))
• Optional: a target filing date to see whether that filing date appears to fall within the SOL window

What the outputs mean for planning

DocketMath typically helps produce:

• a deadline date (the last likely day to file under the selected rule and start date), and/or
• a status check for whether a given filing date appears timely under your selected assumptions

Because SOL disputes can hinge on what trigger date applies, the calculator works best when you update the start date based on what your documents support.

Quick “what-if” sensitivity check

To see how much the deadline depends on the chosen trigger date, try shifting the start date by a few days and rerun:

• If your start date moves from April 10 to April 12, a 1-year deadline generally moves by about the same number of days.
• If a later date is more supportable (for example, when symptoms were first recognized), the deadline may move forward—but whether that later date is legally defensible depends on the applicable rules to your facts.

Below is a simple planning table reflecting the math behind a 1-year period (DocketMath helps compute the exact dates):

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — How to choose the right calculator
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — Full how-to guide with jurisdiction-specific rules
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — How to choose the right calculator