Tennessee Law Elevates Broken-Bone Crashes to Vehicular Assault, With Civil Consequences Beyond Criminal Court
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An impaired driver who causes a crash that breaks another person's bone can now be charged with vehicular assault in Tennessee. Public Chapter 875, effective since July 1, adds broken bones to the definition of serious bodily injury in the state's vehicular assault statute, according to the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus and BillTrack50. Before the change, a broken bone qualified under the general definition only when the injured person was a child.
The expansion matters well beyond the criminal courtroom. Patterson Bray PLLC, a firm with offices in Nashville and Memphis, notes that a pending charge can reshape a civil injury claim for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. The firm's personal injury lawyer in Nashville, TN can explain how a criminal charge fits alongside a civil claim under Tennessee personal injury laws.
Three practical effects stand out. First, the usual one-year filing deadline extends to two years when criminal charges are brought within that first year, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104(a)(2). Second, Tennessee's cap on punitive damages does not apply when a driver's substantially impaired judgment caused the injury, under § 29-39-104(a)(7)(C). Third, blood test results and crash reconstruction reports from the criminal case can help show fault in the civil matter.
"Most people don't realize the criminal case and the injury claim run on separate tracks," said Chris Patterson, managing partner of Patterson Bray. "The prosecutor's job is to hold the driver accountable. Nobody in that courtroom is working to get your medical bills paid. That's what the civil side is for."
The two tracks can reach different outcomes. A criminal case may end in a plea deal, a dismissal, or an acquittal while the injured person still pursues a civil claim, which requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. Someone who was partly at fault for the crash may still recover damages under Tennessee's comparative fault rules.
For Texas readers, the change is a reminder that criminal statutes and civil remedies interact, and that states can shift the economics of impaired-driving crashes by reclassifying injuries. A broken bone can mean felony exposure for a driver and a longer window and broader damages for a victim. Businesses with fleets, insurers, and employers whose workers drive should watch how prosecutors apply the new definition and how civil claims follow.