Latest Tennessee Headlines

All the headlines from our Tennessee Topic Page, ordered by recency.

VW Reports Business-as-Usual at Tennessee Plant Despite Scandal

Oct 2 2015 // Inside Volkswagen’s only U.S. assembly plant there’s little hint of the diesel emissions cheating scandal embroiling the German automaker around the world. Sparks fly off robotic welding arms, new versions of...

Tennessee Reports Increase in Opioid-Related Deaths in 2014

Oct 2 2015 // Statistics from the Tennessee Department of Health revealed that 1,263 Tennesseans died in 2014 from opioid overdoses despite measures designed to stop the addiction.In 2014, the state saw 97 more deaths caused by opioid...

Widow of Tennessee Man Who Died in Custody Sues for $1M

Sep 24 2015 // The wife of a man who died in custody at the Kingsport City Jail has filed a $1 million wrongful death suit.WJHL-TV reports Benjamin Honaker was arrested on Sept. 19, 2014, following a car crash. Officers said Honaker had...

Tennessee Supreme Court Rules for Insurer in Assignment of Benefits Case

Sep 21 2015 // The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s decision that a chiropractic patient’s assignment of benefits was not an effective assignment of his insurance proceeds from a third party’s insurance...

Tennessee Supreme Court to Decide Police Power During Traffic Stops

Sep 11 2015 // The Tennessee Supreme Court is hearing two cases that could have justices deciding how many times drivers have to cross a painted line on the road before officers can pull them over.The two driving under the influence...

Tenn. Highway Patrol Says Fewer Traffic Deaths Reported So Far in 2015

Sep 7 2015 // The Tennessee Highway Patrol says fewer traffic-related deaths are being reported on roadways so far this year.WBIR-TV reports that as of Aug. 11, there had been 50 fewer deaths reported than last year in the same time...

Tennessee Supreme Court Rules for Insurer in Assignment of Benefits Case

Sep 3 2015 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has affirmed a Court of Appeals decision that a chiropractic patient’s assignment of benefits was not an effective assignment of his rights to insurance proceeds from a third party’s...

Tennessee Teen Says Siri Called Emergency Dispatchers and Saved His Life

Aug 21 2015 // A Middle Tennessee teen is alive, thanks to Siri.Eighteen-year-old Sam Ray of Waterhill, Tennessee, says the voice recognition service on his iPhone — famously named Siri — called emergency dispatchers after...

Tenn. Highway Patrol Says Fewer Traffic Deaths Reported So Far This Year

Aug 17 2015 // The Tennessee Highway Patrol says fewer traffic-related deaths are being reported on roadways so far this year.WBIR-TV reports that that as of Aug. 11, there had been 50 fewer deaths than reported last year in the same...

Survey: Decrease in Seat Belt Use in Tennessee

Aug 11 2015 // A recent survey shows a decrease in seat belt use in Tennessee.The Governor’s Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol announced that the statewide rate for the month of June is 86.2 percent, a decrease...

Tennessee Attorney General: Private Groups Can’t Ban Guns in Parks

Aug 6 2015 // The Tennessee Attorney General’s opinion says private organizations can’t prevent licensed handgun permit holders from taking weapons into events the groups operate at public parks.The Tennessean reported the...

Tennessee High Court Upholds Dismissal of Health Care Liability Suit Without Prejudice

Jul 22 2015 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that, in health care liability lawsuits, the obligation to disclose the number of violations of the certificate of good faith requirement does not compel any disclosure if there...

Tennessee Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of Health Care Liability Lawsuit

Jul 20 2015 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that, in health care liability lawsuits, the obligation to disclose the number of violations of the certificate of good faith requirement does not compel any disclosure if there...

Lawsuit Filed Over Evacuations in Tennessee Train Derailment

Jul 13 2015 // A lawyer says he has filed a lawsuit on behalf of residents who were evacuated when a CSX train car carrying hazardous material derailed and caught fire in East Tennessee on July 1.Maryville attorney Kevin Shepherd said...

2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation Wrap-Up

Jul 9 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015.Uninsured Motorist, “James Lee Atwood Jr. Law” The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law, named for a driver who was killed by an...

5 Tornadoes Confirmed in Middle Tennessee

Jul 9 2015 // The National Weather Service says it has confirmed five tornadoes touched down in Middle Tennessee during storms July 2. The Tennessean reports two tornadoes touched down in Wilson County, two in Old Hickory and one in Mt....

Investigation Underway in Fiery Tennessee Train Crash

Jul 6 2015 // About 5,000 residents evacuated after the derailment of a freight train carrying flammable and toxic gas in eastern Tennessee were allowed home on Friday as investigators looked into the cause of the fiery...

Summary of 2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation

Jul 6 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015.Public Chapter 152 – Enacts the “Protection of Volunteer-Insured Drivers of the Elderly (PROVIDE) Act.” Grants...

Tennessee Adopts Online Auto Insurance Verification

Jul 6 2015 // The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law, named for a driver who was killed by an uninsured motorist in the state in 2014, was met with little resistance by Tennessee lawmakers and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam on May 20.The bill...

Truck Driver in Deadly Tennessee Crash Cited in Florida Previous Day

Jul 2 2015 // Authorities say a truck driver who slammed into numerous stopped cars outside of Chattanooga, Tenn., last week, killing six, had been cited for careless driving in Florida the previous day.According to a Florida Highway...