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A Memphis medical malpractice lawsuit led to more than $30 million in damages for parents of a child who sustained brain damages during a caesarian delivery in 2005. The mother was hospitalized for emergency delivery after obstetrical reports indicated “stress and significant risk of injury” for the unborn child. However, doctors delayed the procedure by 79 minutes that caused the child to be born with significant injuries. The boy lives with cognitive impairment and spasticity (unusual stiffness) of his arms and legs, severely restricting his bodily functions.
Filed in Memphis state court, the Memphis, Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit sought damages to cover for the past and future medical and economic care of the child.
Tennessee-based Quorum Health Resources, which runs a chain of hospitals nationwide, paid $33 million in 2012 to partially settle more than 70 medical malpractice lawsuits alleging botched surgery. A doctor at one of its facilities in New Mexico performed back surgeries using bone cement on these plaintiffs without proper procedural adherence and qualification. The non-FDA-approved spine procedure was not performed correctly causing patients to develop life-altering complications.
Medical malpractice lawyers representing plaintiffs argued that the Tennessee hospital operator allowed these unapproved procedures by unqualified doctors “for financial gain.” In February 2014, a Jackson, Tennessee woman won $1.3 million in medical malpractice compensation following a botched elective abdominal surgery. She suffered from long-term physical and mental pain as her gaping stomach wound was not healed despite having the surgery for five years ago. The compensation included damages for “pain, suffering, scarring and disfigurement, associated emotional distress, and loss of income.”
Defining Surgical Mistakes
One can file medical malpractice lawsuit in Tennessee claiming botched surgery where there is ample evidence of
- surgical error
- experimental or mistaken surgery
- wrong surgery
- adopting wrong procedure
- post-surgical complications
- delayed surgery
- surgery without proper training or diagnosis
- anesthesia error
- operating on wrong site
- Leaving a foreign object in patient’s body
Statute of Limitations and Compensation
There is a one-year time limit for filing of a Memphis medical malpractice lawsuit claiming surgical mistake. It starts from the day of discovery of the injury, or when the patient should have known of the injury. However, no claim is allowed after three year from the date of surgery except when the litigation involves leaving of foreign objects inside the plaintiff’s body.
In Tennessee, several types of damages may be awarded in a Tennessee medical malpractice case, including economic damages for medical expenditure, loss of income, and any financial losses suffered, and non-economic damages for pain, suffering loss of family rights, and intangible losses, subject to $750,000 ceiling in normal cases and $1 million limit in cases of death or major disability.
A medical malpractice lawsuit involves complex legal and medical aspects and needs support by a qualified and experienced lawyer. Victims of injury and financial losses due to action or inaction on the part of hospitals, doctors, nurses, paramedics, or pharmacies have the right to seek a range of compensations by filling civil actions. To file a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit or seek expert guidance of lawyers for medical malpractice in Memphis, Jackson, or any part of state, please contact us or call on 1-800-632-1404.
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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