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Surgical errors and post-operative complications make up a large number of claims that a Tennessee medical malpractice attorney evaluates every year. Almost a third of all lawsuits filed against hospitals and doctors in Tennessee involve mistakes ranging from ill-advised procedures to adverse health conditions following surgeries. These medical malpractice litigations are also among those with the highest compensation awarded.
In 2012, a Nashville family was awarded $2o million following the filing of a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit. The 45-year-old victim experienced severe complications after he underwent surgery for kidney stones. He was subject to a full-blown infection and died of cardiac arrest within hours. The family of the deceased claimed wrongful death and linked it to surgical errors. The jury found that the anesthesiologist from Metropolitan Anesthesia Alliance violated the standard of care and ordered him to pay $14 million or 70 percent of the total award.
In another Tennessee medical malpractice claim, the jury awarded $6.12 million after the plaintiff’s lawyer successfully established that a gastroenterologist caused a patient’s death. Thirty-three-year-old Kristen Freeman was suffering from continued bowel problems. She had endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures at a Hamilton County hospital. The complications arising from erroneous surgery led Freeman to suffer from permanent brain damage.
According to her Tennessee medical malpractice attorney, an intestine perforation during the surgery caused her to have severe pain and vomiting. The gastroenterologist, who performed colonoscopy, prescribed Freeman anti-nausea medications to overcome the health problem. However, the patient had a stroke on the very next day that left her with severe brain damage.
Tennessee Medical Malpractice: What Constitutes Surgical Error
The most viable grounds for medical malpractice claim against surgical mistakes include,
- Wrong surgery
- Surgical error leading to death
- Error during surgical procedure
- Surgical instruments or foreign objects left behind in the body
- Post-surgery infections
- Use of contaminated equipment
- Improper anesthesia dosage administration
- Peripheral nerve or organ damage during surgery
- Failure to warn of associated risks
- Failure to ensure effective post-surgical treatment
- Surgery despite existing of risk conditions
The Statute of Limitations
Any Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit seeking liability for surgical error must be filed within the time stipulated under the state statute of limitations. Generally one-year is allowed for medical malpractice actions arising from surgical mistakes. Surgical mistake lawsuits must be filed within a year from the date of surgery.
Tennessee Medical Malpractice: Compensation
Extent of Compensation
The extent of compensation depends on the extent of injuries and legal liability. Usually, a Tennessee medical malpractice attorney seeks for his or her client three types of compensation against surgical mistake, including:
- Compensatory damages for actual costs incurred on treatment and tangible economic losses
- Non-economic damages for suffering, disability, pain, and such other intangible losses
- Punitive damages for liability of the defender causing the suffering of the plaintiff
The changes in the state law cap punitive damages at $500,000 for minor surgical mistakes and $1 million for major surgical mistakes claimed by a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer for his client.
The Comparative Fault Law
Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuits are subject to modified comparative fault provision. It stipulates the following conditions.
- Compensation is granted for surgical mistake seeking medical malpractice in proportionate to the negligence or fault of the plaintiff and the defender.
- The defender must be 51 percent responsible for the health condition to compensate the plaintiff.
- If the plaintiff is 50 percent or more liable, he recovers nothing.
Please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404 to have a free evaluation of your surgical error claim and consultation with our experienced Tennessee medical malpractice attorney in Memphis.
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.
CALL: 1-800-632-1404
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