Leaving the Scene of an Accident in Tennessee

Leaving the scene of an accident is not treated as a minor mistake in Tennessee. State law requires drivers to stop, remain at the scene, share identifying information, provide reasonable assistance when someone is hurt, and promptly notify law enforcement when reporting is required. 

If you are being accused of leaving the scene, or you were hit by a driver who fled, early action matters for both the criminal exposure and the civil claim. Palmer Law, PLC can evaluate what happened, identify the proof that needs to be preserved, and set a plan that protects leverage from day one. Call (615) 434-6270 or request a consultation.

Legal Implications of Leaving the Scene in Tennessee

Tennessee’s hit-and-run rules are built around staying at the scene and completing specific duties that apply to the situation.

1. Duties

If an accident involves injury or death, the driver must stop immediately, return if necessary, and remain until the driver has satisfied the statutory duties. For crashes involving damage only, drivers still must stop, remain, and exchange required information once everyone has determined there is no suspected injury. The required information and assistance duties include providing the driver’s name, address, vehicle registration number, showing a driver license if requested and available, and rendering reasonable assistance to injured people, including arranging transport for medical care when needed.

2. Criminal Penalties 

Tennessee classifies penalties based on what the driver knew or should have known and the level of damage. For crashes involving injury or death, a violation is generally a Class A misdemeanor, and it becomes a Class E felony when the person “knew or should reasonably have known” that death resulted from the accident. For crashes involving property damage only, Tennessee uses a dollar threshold: if damage appears to be $1,500 or less, leaving can be charged as a Class B misdemeanor, and if it exceeds $1,500, it can be charged as a Class A misdemeanor.

3. License Consequences

The statute for injury-or-death crashes states that the commissioner “shall revoke” the license or permit to drive for a person convicted under that section. For property-damage-only crashes, Tennessee also authorizes license consequences tied to insurance compliance and provides for a minimum suspension period in certain situations.

4. Reporting

Separate from stopping, Tennessee law requires drivers to give immediate notice to the appropriate law enforcement agency when an accident involves injury or death or property damage that appears to be $50 or more. This matters in leaving-the-scene situations because the driver who stays and reports promptly often creates a stronger evidentiary record through an officer’s observations and a formal crash report.

5. Civil and Insurance Impact

Civil claims still revolve around negligence and proof, but leaving can influence how the claim is evaluated. Insurance carriers often treat flight as a sign of avoidable liability risk, and juries may view it as consciousness of wrongdoing. It also changes the insurance path: when the at-fault driver cannot be identified, many injured people are forced into an uninsured motorist route depending on policy language and proof. A personal injury compensation lawyer typically treats identification evidence as the key to restoring ordinary liability options.

What to Do After a Hit and Run

After a hit and run, the difference between a strong claim and a discounted claim is often early medical documentation and preserved identification evidence.

1. If you were hit and the other driver fled.

After a hit and run, the difference between a strong claim and a discounted claim is often early medical documentation and preserved identification evidence. If you were hit and the other driver fled, the goal is simple: protect your health, then lock down identification and liability proof before it disappears.

2. Medical first and documentation second.

If you have symptoms, get evaluated and follow through on care. Treatment documentation and a clear link between the incident and damages are central to injury claims. Consistent medical records often carry more weight than verbal descriptions of pain.

3. Call law enforcement and report what you saw.

Tennessee’s immediate notice statute requires prompt notice for injuries/death and for property damage meeting the statutory threshold. Provide a clear description of the vehicle, the direction of travel, and any partial plate. Ask whether nearby cameras may exist (business exteriors, traffic cameras where available, neighborhood systems).

4. Collect identification clues the right way.

If safe, take photos of:

• your vehicle damage and debris field,
• paint transfer or broken plastic that may identify a make/model,
• the roadway and signage showing where the impact occurred,
• your visible injuries over the first days.

Also collect witness names and numbers immediately. If you have dashcam footage, preserve the original file and create a copy.

5. Notify your insurer without guessing.

Insurers often request recorded statements quickly. Provide the basic facts, but avoid speculation about speed, distance, or fault until you have reviewed the report and documentation. A personal injury lawyer in Nashville makes sure that the claim narrative matches the objective evidence and the crash report.

6. Get the crash report as soon as it is available.

Tennessee provides a statewide method to obtain a crash report, with the state explaining the key information needed and the options for retrieval. This is often a turning point in a hit-and-run claim because the report anchors the date, location, investigating agency, and early witness summaries.

7. If you left the scene because you felt unsafe.

Tennessee law still requires stopping and remaining to satisfy statutory duties, but real life can be messy. If a driver fears immediate danger, a safer approach is to move to the nearest well-lit public location and immediately notify law enforcement, while being prepared to explain why the move was necessary. The baseline legal duties to stop, remain, provide information, and render aid are spelled out in Tennessee’s statutes, and delays can create exposure. If you are being accused of leaving, treat it as both a criminal and civil risk issue and get legal counsel quickly.

Get Help from the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Tennessee

Hit-and-run crashes are a persistent national problem, with NHTSA reporting 2,872 fatalities in crashes involving hit-and-run drivers in 2023, and a substantial portion of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities involving hit-and-run circumstances. Tennessee’s rules on stopping, exchanging information, rendering aid, and immediate notice are strict, and violations can carry misdemeanor or felony exposure plus license consequences. If you need the best Nashville, TN personal injury lawyer for a leaving-the-scene crash, contact us today by calling (615) 434-6270 to schedule a consultation and start building the proof needed for full compensation.