Personal Injury & Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Call me anytime to talk about your case. It's free, it's confidential, and you'll never be screened by a secretary.
Joe DeGaetano is a Chattanooga personal injury lawyer and a former federal prosecutor who defends people who are under federal investigation or indictment. He represents people in personal injury and insurance claims in Tennessee and Georgia, and federal criminal defendants in the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee and the Northern District of Georgia.
- In the 2009 trial of an injury lawsuit in Rutherford County, Tennessee, Joe and his colleague won a jury verdict in excess of $10 million against an international, publicly traded restaurant chain for over-service of alcohol.
- From 2018 to 2025, Joe served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. As a federal prosecutor, he investigated and prosecuted federal crimes including wire fraud, tax fraud, bankruptcy fraud, drug trafficking, illegal firearm possession, armed robbery, death threats against federal officials, and the January 6, 2021, assault on the United States Capitol and its police officers.
- In 2015, the Hamilton County Commission appointed Joe to the Board of Zoning Appeals, where he served for five years hearing and deciding petitions for zoning variances and other zoning-related matters each month.
- In 2016, the Hamilton County Commission appointed Joe to the Regional Health Council, which monitors the health status of residents and recommends strategies, with the involvement of physicians, allied health professionals, and other area officials, to ensure the health of Hamilton County residents.
- In 2025, Governor Bill Lee selected Joe as one of three finalists to serve as the Tennessee Claims Commissioner for Eastern Tennessee. The Claims Commission hears and decides all personal injury cases against the State of Tennessee.
Joe DeGaetano sworn in as Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecutor of federal crimes in the Eastern District of Tennessee
