Medical malpractice is medical negligence and occurs when a health care provider (physician, hospital, nurse) violates the standard of care when providing treatment to a patient, causing the patient to suffer an injury.

David Randolph Smith is one of only ten attorneys in the State of Tennessee certified as a Medical Malpractice Specialist by the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. There are over 13,000 attorneys in Tennessee. Call us at 1-800-394-2119 for a free and confidential evaluation of your case by a Board certified Tennessee medical malpractice attorney.

The firm has handled a number of landmark Tennessee Supreme Court medical malpractice cases cases for the plaintiff including:

• Jordan v. Baptist Three Rivers Hospital, 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999) which 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;
• Ashe v. Radiation Oncology Associates, 9 S.W. 3d 119 (Tenn. 1999) establishing causation standard in medical malpractice informed consent cases;
• Foley v. St. Thomas Hosp., 906 SW2d 448, 453 (Tenn. 1995) establishing rights of next of kin in autopsy cases;
• Recently the firm successfuly clarified the law on qualification of medical experts under Tennessee's medical malpractice locality rule in Travis v. Ferraraccio (Tenn. Ct. App., Sept. 19, 2005).

The firm has obtained millions of dollars in settlements and judgments in medical malpractice cases in Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Louisiana. Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Indications of past case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in future cases. If you are seeking a Nashville medical malpractice lawyer (or for a case in any Tennessee city), we would be pleased to evaluate your case.

A recent report (pdf) on medical malpractice claims in Tennessee highlights this area of law:

Medical Malpractice Claims 2005

Medical malpractice can result from an action taken by the medical practitioner, or by the failure to take a medically appropriate action. Examples of medical malpractice include: misdiagnosis of, or failure to diagnose, a disease or medical condition;failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition;unreasonable delay in treating a diagnosed medical condition.

Medical malpractice actions can be brought by the injured patient against any responsible licensed health care provider, including doctors, counselors, psychologists and psychotherapists.

Medical Malpractice FAQs (link)

Legal Issues in Medical Malpractice

Limits on Malpractice Damages
Tennessee does not limit damages in medical malpractice cases.

Collateral Source Rule
Under a traditional collateral source rule, a defendant may not seek to reduce its liability by introducing evidence that the plaintiff has received compensation from other sources, such as the plaintiff's own insurance coverage. In Tennessee there is a mandatory offset, except for private insurance or for assets purchased by the plaintiff.

Rules for Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses must be licensed in Tennessee or in a contiguous state, and must have been in practice for at least one year prior to the date of the plaintiff's injury.

Statute of Limitations
Under Tennessee law, medical malpractice actions must be commenced within one year of the date of the injury or discovery of injury but in no event more than three years from the date of the negligent accident or occurrence (except in the case of foreign objects or fraudulent concealment).

Limits on Attorney Fees
Contingent attorney fees are limited to 1/3 of the recovery.

Additional Rules
Tennessee law provides for voluntary arbitration.

Why Use A Malpractice Lawyer
Medical malpractice law is a highly technical field of law, and malpractice lawsuits tend to be fiercely defended by well-funded defense firms. In retaining a Tennessee medical malpractice attorney it is importanht to consider that medical malpractice lawsuits can be exceptionally expensive to pursue, with costs often exceeding $50,000.00. Due to the technical skills involved in prosecuting a malpractice claim, the possibility that an inexperienced lawyer may not be sufficiently conversant with the medical issues, or might make a technical error which causes a case to be lost or dismissed, and the very high costs the malpractice law firm typically must advance, an injured patient is very well served by going with a specialist firm. Call us at 1-800-394-2119 for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.

We have assisted medical malpractice clients (and persons seeking a review of their potential case) in the following Tennessee cities: Athens,Bolivar, Brentwood. Bristol, Chattanooga, Clarksville,, Cleveland, Clinton, Columbia, Cookeville, Cordova, Covington, Crossville, Dickson, Dresden, Dyersburg, Elizabethton, Fayetteville, Franklin, Gallatin, Germantown, Goodlettsville, Greeneville, Hendersonville, Huntingdon, Jackson, Jasper, Johnson City, Jonesborough, Kingsport,Knoxville, Lawrenceburg, Lebanon,Lewisburg, Lexington, Livingston, Madison, Manchester, Maryville, Mc Minnville,, Memphis, Morristown, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Newport, Oak Ridge, Oneida, Paris, Pulaski, Rogersville, Sevierville, Shelbyville, Sparta, Springfield, Trenton, Tullahoma, Union City, Waverly, Winchester.