LOCATION

The firm's office is located at 1913 21st Avenue South in the Hillsboro Village area of Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is within walking distance on 21st Avenue.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Telephone: (615) 742-1775
Toll-free: (800) 394-2119
Fax: (615) 742-1223
E-mail: info@drslawfirm.com
Mailing address: 1913 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212

SCOPE OF PRACTICE

The firm conducts trials in state and federal courts in Tennessee and other states (by pro hac vice admission) and focuses upon personal injury, products liability,wrongful death, civil rights and medical malpractice litigation.

MISSION STATEMENT

Since its founding in 1993 by Mr. Smith, the firm strives to maintain a small caseload with a commitment to vigorous prosecution of well-researched cases. Lawsuits should improve society and achieve justice.

With those goals in mind, we seek cases and clients where the issues are important to public policy and involve substantial injuries or constitutional questions. We welcome co-counsel relationships and referrals from attorneys for important cases.

ATTORNEYS

David Randolph Smith is certified as a Civil Litigation Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.

Mr. Smith is also certified as a Medical Malpractice Specialist by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.

David Randolph Smith has tried over 100 cases in state and federal courts throughout the nation, in Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Montana, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington D.C.He began in private practice with the national law firm of Baker & Botts in Houston, Texas (1978-1983). He served as an Associate Professor of Law teaching Torts, Evidence and Professional Responsibility at Vanderbilt University School of Law (1983-1988).

Mr. Smith has been evaluated by his peers and received an "AV" rating by Martindale-Hubbell--the highest rating possible--indicating Very High to Preeminent Legal Ability (A) and a Very High general ethical standards rating(V).

If you are seeking a:

• Board-Certified Specialist in Medical Malpractice and Civil Litigation, or a
• Tennessee Personal Injury Attorney
• Tennessee Auto Accident Attorney
• Tennesse Product Liability Attorney
• Tennessee Medical Malpractice Attorney
• Tennessee Wrongful Death Attorney
• Tennessee Trucking Accident Attorney
• Tennessee Civil Rights Attorney
• Tennessee Birth Injury Attorney or
• Tennessee Fire Attorney,

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your case confidentially and free of charge.

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* Top photo: Nashville Public Library reading room.

• NHC Nursing Home Fire Litigation
  • Lead Counsel for 32 families in consolidated cases arising from fatal 2003 fire at National Health Corporation's Nashviile nursing home. Obtained significant (confidential) settlements in October, 2004.
• Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital, 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999)
  • Changed 100 years of Tennessee wrongful death law by recognizing the right to recover damages for the loss of the deceased's love, affection, companionship and consortium.
  • The defense bar acknowledges that: "In 1999, the value of every wrongful death case in the State of Tennessee increased dramatically when the Supreme Court held that a surviving spouse and adult children could recover for loss of consortium damages in a wrongful death case See Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital, 984 S.W. 2d 593 (Tenn. 1999). Plaintiffs who are children or the spouse of the deceased may now recover for damages such as loss of companionship, comfort, society, attention, cooperation, affection, care and love, and in the case of the spouse, sexual relations. Prior to this ruling, the Tennessee courts only allowed plaintiffs to recover certain damages on behalf of the deceased. Specifically, plaintiffs could recover the mental and physical suffering, loss of time, and necessary expenses resulting to the deceased from the personal injuries."
• Cases Televised on:
  • ABC television, 20/20 "When Death Seeps In", a fatal case of carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel
  • NBC Nightly News (mercury poisoning)
• Ashe v. Radiation Oncology Associates, 9 S.W. 3d 119 (Tenn. 1999)
  • Established causation standard in medical malpractice informed consent cases.
• Steele v. Industrial Development Bd. of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, 117 F.Supp.2d 693, 148 Ed. Law Rep. 287, M.D.Tenn., Oct 24, 2000, rev'd 301 F.3d 401 (6th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1188, 123 S.Ct. 1254 (2003)
  • Presented the constitutional question of whether the First Amendement's Establishment clause (separating church and state) prohibits government industrial revenue bonds to be used to finance a pervasively sectarian (religious) institution. The firm filed a brief in the United States Supreme Court.
    
• True Stories From the Morgue Autopsy Litigation
  • David Randolph Smith represented the parents of two families whose deceased adult child's autopsy was shown on national television without the consent of the surviving parents.The broadasts were part of a TLC network television reality series, True Stories From the Morgue
• Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Radiation Litigation
  • Representing 82 landowners in a federal court lawsuit against Lockheed Martin and Union Carbide seeking compensation for contamination and reduced property values from the operations of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah Kentucky.

Disclaimer: The above rersults and summaries, although accurate, do not reflect the value of any individual or prospective case.