As of July 1, 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 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. Previously, a broken bone qualified under the general definition only when the injured person was a child.
The change matters because it elevates what was often a misdemeanor or lesser charge into a felony for impaired drivers, signaling a tougher legislative stance on drunk and drugged driving. But the implications extend beyond the criminal courtroom. Patterson Bray PLLC notes that the change can affect injured people well beyond the criminal case. Their personal injury lawyer in Nashville, TN can explain how a pending charge fits alongside a civil claim for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
A vehicular assault charge does not decide a civil case, but it can change several parts of one under Tennessee personal injury laws. 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 serve as additional evidence to help show fault.
"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 distinction is critical because a criminal case can end in a plea deal, a dismissal, or an acquittal, and the injured person can still pursue a civil claim. Civil cases require proof by a preponderance of the evidence, a lower standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Someone who was partly at fault for the crash may also still recover damages under Tennessee's comparative fault rules. For victims, the new law means that a broken bone from an impaired driver crash is no longer just a personal injury matter—it can trigger a felony charge and open the door to stronger civil remedies, including extended filing deadlines, uncapped punitive damages, and access to criminal investigative evidence.
