At least three motorcyclists have died on Nashville roads since June, according to a press release from Patterson Bray PLLC. The deaths include a 46-year-old Metro Parks employee who crashed on an Interstate 440 exit ramp on Sept. 1, as reported by WSMV. On July 30, a 19-year-old rider died on I-65 near Dickerson Pike after hitting the back of a tractor-trailer. On June 3, a 35-year-old rider died after colliding with a car on Hermitage Avenue, Fox 17 reported.
These deaths are not just statistics; they represent a pattern that raises urgent questions about how fault is assigned when a motorcycle is involved. "When a motorcycle's involved, people tend to assume the rider was speeding," said Will Patterson, an attorney with Tennessee firm Patterson Bray PLLC. "Sometimes that's true. But a lot of times another driver just didn't look." The firm encourages injured riders and their families not to treat early police statements as the final word on fault. Their Nashville motorcycle accident lawyers can look at whether another driver or the road itself played a part.
Tennessee follows modified comparative fault, a rule the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted in McIntyre v. Balentine. Under that rule, each person involved in the crash is assigned a percentage of fault, either in settlement talks or by a jury. A rider whose share is less than 50 percent can still recover damages, reduced by that share. A rider found 20 percent at fault for a $100,000 loss would recover $80,000. A rider found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing from the other parties.
A police report reflects what officers learned at the scene, often before video is collected or every witness is interviewed. Footage from nearby businesses and traffic cameras may be recorded over or lost within days. Vehicle data, skid marks, and witness accounts gathered later can shift the fault percentages considerably. Tennessee also generally allows only one year to file an injury claim under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104, so families who wait may lose the chance to use that evidence.
For the families of the riders killed this summer, and for the many more who survive crashes, these legal realities mean that the initial narrative of fault may not hold up. Preserving evidence quickly and understanding how Tennessee's fault system works can make the difference between recovering damages and recovering nothing. With motorcycle fatalities climbing, the stakes for riders and their families have never been higher.
