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Memphis, Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Help
As a Memphis, Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer with the ability for members of our team to also investigate claims in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky, we thought it beneficial to discuss the following.
Wrong prescription, post-operative complications, erroneous diagnosis, wrongful death, imperfect hospital care, and surgical mistakes result in the filing of about 2,000 Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuits every year. The Tennessee State Code delineates detailed, necessary provisions defining the extent, legal procedure, time frame, expert testimony, and compensation limit governing medical malpractice litigation procedure in the state.
Tennessee Medical Malpractice Compensation
Types of Compensation: One can seek the following types of damages by filing a TN medical malpractice lawsuit.
- Economic damages for financial loss or expenditure incurred due to injury. It includes medical expenditure, loss of wage, and compensation to cover any tangible economic loss. There is no cap on these damages.
- Non-economic damages for emotional trauma, suffering, loss of consortium, loss of family life, and other intangible losses. There is a cap of $750,000.
- Compensatory damages to compensate for disability, loss of quality of life, and potential future impact in monetary terms. These damages are similarly capped at the same $750,000 as non-ecomomic damages.
- Punitive damages to punish the culprit and deter any medical malpractice action by the person affecting others. These damages are also capped.
Amount of Compensation: The state law defines limits of compensation amount to be granted for various Tennessee medical malpractice conditions.
- No restriction on total compensation amount.
- The court is empowered to award any amount of economic damages it considers suitable.
- Non-economic damages cannot exceed $750,000 for normal injuries and $1 million for catastrophic injuries.
- The overall compensation is fixed according injury, state laws, and ability of the defendant to pay.
Compensation Amount Varies Based on Injury: A TN medical malpractice lawsuit is allowed to seek over $1 million in non-economic compensation for amputation, wrongful death, spinal cord damage, and third-degree burns. Higher compensation is also allowed when the court discovers the act as deliberate, intentional, aimed at destroying evidence, or caused by consumption of intoxicants.
Time Limits for Tennessee Medical Malpractice
In Tennessee, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a year of detection of an injury (or when the plaintiff knew or should have known of such an injury). Also, there is a three year statute of repose, which requires all cases to be filed within three years. However, the statute of limitations is not applicable to
- those less than 18 years (but a minor must still file within 3 years)
- people of unsound mind (but a case must still be filed within 3 years)
- when injury involves an undetected an object left inside the patient
The procedure mandates a 60-day pre-suit notice prior to the filing of a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit.
Other Important Tennessee Medical Malpractice Provisions
- Testimony by an expert witness supporting your TN Medical malpractice claim is a must. The state law requires the witness to be an expert in the medical field, with a permission to practice in the state or neighboring states. He must have specialization over the specific issue that led to the claim.
- A certificate of good faith, an affidavit of merit, must be filed within 90 days of a Tennessee Medical malpractice lawsuit is filed. It is an affirmation by the plaintiff confirming the he himself or through his Tennessee Medical malpractice lawyer has consulted experts and obtained their written consent for going forward with a tangible claim.
- Failure to file the affidavit leads to dismissal of the litigation “with prejudice” (refilling is not allowed).
- There is no restriction on negotiations through TN medical malpractice lawyers seeking an out-of-court settlement.
Contact a Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or a loved one in Tennessee, Arkansas or Kentucky believes you are the victim of medical malpractice and have sustained an injury to yourself or your child, infant, parent or loved one, please contact us today.
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