Hurt at work in Tennessee? Deadlines, weekly benefit and how to file

Tell your employer in writing within 15 days. File your claim within 1 year.

Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits (temporary disability / partial wage replacement) can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,488.30 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Your employer's insurer, not the state, usually decides first. If they deny or delay, the free help listed here can explain your options.

In Tennessee, temporary total disability benefits replace part of your lost wages while the authorized treating physician keeps you off work because of a work injury. Your employer's insurance company (the adjuster) handles the claim and pays benefits; disputes go to Bureau mediation and then to a judge of the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims.

What are my deadlines?How much will I get?Who is my doctor?Claim denied?

Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.

Deadlines are strict. If you are near one, call the state agency or free help today.

Free tools for Tennessee

Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent until you download, copy or print a document.

Deadline helper

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

If you are not sure of the exact day, use the earliest day you think it could be.

Enter the date of injury

We add the number from the law to your date. Nothing is saved.

Written notice to your employer

A letter that tells your employer, in writing, that you were hurt or made sick by your work.

Where the reply should be sent.

Required when you mail it. Not needed if you hand it in person.

In your own words, in English. Keep it short and factual. Do not guess why it happened.

It goes into the letter as you type it.

Other formats

Claim checklist: what to gather and do

A printable list of papers to keep and steps to take.

What you already have

Tennessee
Other formats

Your checklist

Deadlines in Tennessee

Tell your employer
15 days
File your claim
1 year
Waiting period

No temporary disability benefits are paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability; benefits start on the eighth day.

All the details →

Weekly benefit in Tennessee

What it pays
Two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages
Maximum
$1,488.30 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum
$202.95 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)
Minimum rule

If your average weekly wage is $202.95 or more, you get at least $202.95 a week (injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027). If your average weekly wage is less than that, the law says you receive your full average weekly wage, and that payments are not to be less than the minimum weekly benefit.

Applies to
Injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027

Law: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 50-6-102, 50-6-207(1)(A)

Source: tn.gov

We do not offer a calculator for Tennessee: its rule has parts that a simple estimate cannot show. Read the rule above and ask the state agency.

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Who is your doctor in Tennessee?

Who chooses
You choose from a list

Your employer must give you a list (panel) of at least three doctors on Form C-42, Employee's Choice of Physician, as soon as practicable and no later than 3 business days after you ask for medical care. You pick one, who becomes your authorized treating physician. Sign the form and keep a copy. If you accept treatment from a doctor on the form without signing, you may be treated as having chosen that doctor. In an emergency, get emergency care first; the panel should be given after you are stabilized.

Your employer or insurer is usually not required by law to give you a second opinion, but you can ask. You may see any other doctor at your own expense. If your authorized doctor refers you to a specialist, the specialist also becomes an authorized treating physician.

Law: Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-204

Source: tn.gov

Who is covered in Tennessee

Size of employer

In most industries, employers with 5 or more full-time or part-time employees must carry workers' compensation insurance.

Special rules
  • Construction and coal mining: Construction and coal mining employers must carry coverage even with only one employee. Construction business owners may apply for an exemption for themselves, but all construction employees must be covered.
Not covered
  • Employees of non-construction employers with fewer than 5 employees
  • Construction business owners who are registered on the Bureau's Exemption Registry
  • Workers who are truly independent contractors (misclassified employees are still employees)
  • Federal employees, longshore and harbor workers, railroad workers and seamen are covered by federal programs, sometimes in addition to state law
Contractors

Some employers wrongly treat employees as independent contractors or self-employed. The Bureau's Employee Misclassification Education and Enforcement Fund (EMEEF) investigates and penalizes this, and you can report it with the Employee Misclassification Tip Form. It is also illegal for an employer to make an employee pay any part of its workers' compensation premium.

Immigrant workers

Temporary and part-time workers may be eligible for benefits, and you do not have to be a legal resident of the United States to receive most of them. Increased permanent partial disability benefits are not available to undocumented workers.

If your employer has no insurance

If your employer was required to have coverage but did not, the Uninsured Employers Fund may pay up to $40,000 in all (up to $20,000 for temporary disability and up to $20,000 for medical care) for injuries on or after July 1, 2015. To qualify you must get a decision from the Court of Workers' Compensation Claims against the employer, have been a Tennessee resident on the date of injury, and notify the Bureau within 60 days of the injury (180 days for injuries on or after June 22, 2020) that your employer had no insurance. Call the UEF Claims Manager at 901-543-0042 and write on your Petition for Benefit Determination that your employer is uninsured.

Uninsured Employers Fund (UEF)

Check your employer's insurance

Law: Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 50-6-102, 50-6-106, 50-6-801 et seq

Source: tn.gov

If your claim is denied or delayed in Tennessee

First step

Call the Bureau's free Ombudsman Program at 1-800-332-2667 (Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central). An ombudsman helps workers who do not have a lawyer: contacting the adjuster, completing forms, and getting medical records.

Form
Petition for Benefit Determination (PBD)

All the details →

Fired or punished for filing in Tennessee

It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee for reporting a work injury.

The law
Tennessee retaliatory discharge law (court-made rule)
Where to file

The Bureau of Workers' Compensation cannot resolve wrongful-termination claims. These claims are handled in the regular courts; the Bureau suggests talking to a Tennessee-licensed attorney.

Source: tn.gov

Lawyers' fees and other benefits in Tennessee

Fees for a worker's attorney must be approved by the workers' compensation judge and may not be more than 20% of the recovery or award. In some situations, such as a wrongful denial of benefits, the law allows the judge to order the employer to pay attorney's fees.

Tennessee also pays temporary partial disability (two-thirds of the difference between your old wage and light-duty wage), permanent disability benefits based on an impairment rating times your rate times 450 weeks (with possible increased benefits if you do not return to work at the same pay), lifetime medical care for the injury unless closed by settlement, mileage for medical travel over 15 miles one way, and death benefits including burial expenses up to $10,000.

Free help in Tennessee

State agency

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)

Phone
1-800-332-2667
Address
220 French Landing Drive, Nashville, TN 37243
Find an office

Free help

Good to know in Tennessee

  • The opinion of the authorized treating physician you chose from the employer's panel is presumed correct.
  • If you refuse light-duty work within your restrictions that your employer offers, your temporary disability benefits may stop.
  • The Petition for Benefit Determination and the court guide for workers without lawyers are also available in Spanish (BWC).

Changes in 2024–2026

Weekly TTD limits for injuries from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 rose to $1,488.30 maximum and $202.95 minimum, per the BWC compensation rate table updated June 29, 2026.

Questions about workers' comp in Tennessee

How long do I have to tell my employer about a work injury in Tennessee?

Report your injury to your supervisor immediately. If your employer does not already know about it, you must give written notice within 15 calendar days after the accident.

How long do I have to file a workers' comp claim in Tennessee?

Your employer reports the claim to its insurance adjuster; you do not file a claim form with the state when things are going smoothly.

How much does workers' comp pay in Tennessee?

Temporary total disability (TTD) benefits (temporary disability / partial wage replacement) can pay two-thirds of your gross (before-tax) wages, up to $1,488.30 a week (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027).

Can I choose my own doctor for a work injury in Tennessee?

Your employer must give you a list (panel) of at least three doctors on Form C-42, Employee's Choice of Physician, as soon as practicable and no later than 3 business days after you ask for medical care.

Can my employer fire me for filing a workers' comp claim in Tennessee?

It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee for reporting a work injury.

What if my workers' comp claim is denied in Tennessee?

Call the Bureau's free Ombudsman Program at 1-800-332-2667 (Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central).

Not about a work injury?

Not about a work injury? Unpaid wages → Wage Claim Map · Hurt in a car crash → Accident Claim Map · A medical bill → Medical Bill Map · Unemployment benefits → Unemployment Claim Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com

Nearby states

Sources