Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113 (2026)
Damages recoverable in wrongful death
✓ current as of May 2026
Where a person's death is caused by the wrongful act, fault or omission of another and suit is brought for damages, as provided for by §§ 20-5-106 and 20-5-107, the party suing shall, if entitled to damages, have the right to recover for the mental and physical suffering, loss of time and necessary expenses resulting to the deceased from the personal injuries, and also the damages resulting to the parties for whose use and benefit the right of action survives from the death consequent upon the injuries received.
Acts 1883, ch. 186, § 1; Shan., § 4029; Code 1932, § 8240; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-614.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 70
cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999).
Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hosp., 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999). “We granted appeal 1 to determine whether claims for loss of spousal and parental consortium in wrongful death cases are viable in Tennessee under Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113. 2 We express no opinion as to whether the loss of parental consortium may be recov *596 ered in personal…”
Woo-Jun Ki v. State, 78 S.W.3d 876 (Tenn. 2002). “§ 20-5-106(a) and Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113. The award of damages is therefore limited to $300,000 pursuant to Tenn.”
Thurmon v. Sellers, 62 S.W.3d 145 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113 (1994). Under this section, survivors of the deceased may recover for their losses suffered as a result of the death as well as the damages sustained by the deceased from the time of injury to the time of death.”
Hancock v. Chattanooga-Hamilton Cnty. Hosp. Auth., 54 S.W.3d 234 (Tenn. 2001). “We hold that (1) filial consortium damages are recoverable under Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113 in wrongful death actions; and (2) the plaintiffs’ amendment to the complaint to include consortium damages does not state a new cause of action and is therefore not barred by Tenn.”
Alexander v. Beale Street Blues Co., Inc., 108 F. Supp. 2d 934 (W.D. Tenn. 1999). “Plaintiffs argue that the statute actually gives rise to a second cause of action in favor of survivors under which they may recover damages in their own right for injuries they received because of Alexander’s death.”
Rains v. Bend of the River, 124 S.W.3d 580 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “In light of our conclusion that the negligence per se and negligent entrustment claims must be dismissed, we need not discuss at length whether Mr. Rains’s parents and sibling have loss of consortium claims.”
Jackie Davis, by Next Friend, Edward Davis v. Jellico Cmty. Hosp. Inc. William Stafford, M.D., 912 F.2d 129 (6th Cir. 1990). “Finally, the defendants claim that the district court committed an error of law by allowing Davis’s beneficiaries to recover damages for future medical expenses when such damages are not recoverable under Tennessee’s wrongful death statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113 . The…”
Rothstein v. Orange Grove Ctr., Inc., 60 S.W.3d 807 (Tenn. 2001). “We hold that the telephone slips were properly admitted into evidence.”
Lynn v. City of Jackson, 63 S.W.3d 332 (Tenn. 2001). “In holding that loss of consortium damages are recoverable in wrongful death actions, this Court emphasized that: The plain language of Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113 reveals that it may he classified as a survival statute because it preserves whatever cause of action was vested in…”
Aundrey Meals Ex Rel. William Meals v. Ford Motor Co., 417 S.W.3d 414 (Tenn. 2013). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113; Hunter v. Ura, 163 S.”
Hataway v. McKinley, 830 S.W.2d 53 (Tenn. 1992). “” Tenn.Code Ann. § 20-5-113 (1980) (emphasis added).”
Wilkerson Ex Rel. Wilkerson v. Altizer, 845 S.W.2d 744 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992). “In a wrongful death action, if liability is established, damages recoverable under Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 20-5-113 consist of two classes: 1) damages purely for injury to the deceased embraces damages for mental and physical suffering, loss of time and necessary…”
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