Source: https://www.gilmanbedigian.com/tennessee-medical-malpractice-laws
Timestamp: 2020-06-07 08:33:42
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Tennessee Medical Malpractice Laws | Gilman & Bedigian
Medical malpractice claims are nuanced in that there are a variety of facts that must be analyzed to make certain that your claim has merit and is permitted to be filed with a court. If you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice, you have a specified time period in which you are able to bring a claim. If you fail to file a claim within that timeframe, it is quite possible that you will not be able to do so at any point and you will not be permitted to recover for your pain and suffering. This page is intended to provide a brief overview of what you may expect if you are pursuing a medical malpractice claim in Tennessee; however, the best course of action to take if you are considering doing so is to consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney licensed in Tennessee. An experienced attorney will be able to guide you through the specifics of the laws that are more finely tuned with the details of your medical malpractice claim and explore whether your claim has the requisite merit to be filed in court.
Suing for Medical Malpractice in Tennessee
In Tennessee, you may bring a medical malpractice case against a medical care provider, including a medical doctor, nurse, physical therapist, and mental health care professional. The law in Tennessee places a set time period for which a medical malpractice claim may be filed. If named as a defendant in a medical malpractice case, the law in Tennessee allows the defense of modified comparative negligence to be used which allows a damage award to be reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault assigned by a court.
When it comes to medical malpractice claims, most cases settle out of court prior to the case advancing to the trial stage of litigation. Tennessee is one of a few states that refuses to place a limit on damages that may be awarded to a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case.
The first step in bringing a claim of medical malpractice against a healthcare provider is making certain that you are permitted to do so. The law in Tennessee mandates that an action for personal injury must be filed within one year from the date the cause of action accrues. [1]
This time limitation is known as the “statute of limitations” which refers to the time period from the time an injury occurs or is discovered to the final date on which a medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed. If you decide to bring an action after the statute of limitations has passed, a court can dismiss your case and you will be left with no recourse. The reason behind placing a time limitation on when you may file a medical malpractice claim is sound. A court is interested in credible evidence in order to establish a cause of action. As time passes, it is possible that the crucial evidence that would initially help bolster your case would become less compelling.
The law in Tennessee does provide a special exception to the one-year statute of limitations rule whereby the one-year clock does not begin to run until your injury has been, or should have been, discovered. However, at no point may a medical malpractice lawsuit be filed beyond the three-year mark, regardless of the timing of discovery.
Additionally, any party initiating a health care liability case must give sixty days advance notice to the implicated health care providers before filing suit.
In Tennessee Medical Malpractice Cases, who is Responsible?
In Tennessee, a medical malpractice lawsuit means an action for damages for personal injury or death as a result of any medical malpractice by a health care provider, whether based on tort or contract law.
What if I am partially to blame? Can I Still Recover Money for Tennessee Medical Malpractice?
Tennessee, along with 32 other states recognizes the doctrine of modified comparative fault. [2] The doctrine allows a court to assign a percentage of blame to each party involved in the lawsuit and any damage award is reduced in proportion to your apportioned fault. Of the 33 states that follow a modified version of comparative fault, Tennessee is one of 12 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia) that follow a 50% rule where you are only able to recover damages for an injury if a court determines that your apportionment of fault for your own injury is 49% or less.
Some states do not adhere to a modified form of comparative fault and instead follow a doctrine of pure comparative fault where a plaintiff is able to recover for damages even if they are found to have been 99% at fault for their injury. An argument against the adoption of pure comparative fault is that it is contrary to the nature and purpose of the legal system to allow a plaintiff who has substantially contributed to their own injury to recover damages for any portion of their loss. This is a reason why Tennessee decided to adopt a modified system.
Are there medical malpractice recovery caps in Tennessee?
Punitive Damages are different from compensatory damages in that they are intended to punish the defendant rather than compensate the plaintiff. In Tennessee, punitive damages may be awarded by the court only when you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant against whom punitive damages are sought acted maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently or recklessly. [3]
The law in Tennessee places a limit on the amount of punitive damages that a court may award which is the greater of two times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000. [4]
The law in Tennessee requires you to prove by competent expert testimony the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice in the profession and the specialty thereof, if any, that the defendant physician practices in the community in which he practices or in a similar community at the time the alleged injury or wrongful action occurred. [5]
To be deemed a competent expert witness, the person must be licensed to practice in the state or a contiguous bordering state a profession or specialty which would make their expert testimony relevant to the issues in the case and had practiced this profession or specialty in one of those states during the year preceding the date that the alleged injury or wrongful act occurred.
Some states provide absolute immunity to their municipalities, cities in towns when it comes to actions of personal injury.
The law in Tennessee has waived its immunity when faced with a claim of medical malpractice. However, the State is immune from potential punitive damages. If the State is found to be liable for medical malpractice, damages are limited to $1,000,000 per occurrence. [6]
Governmental entities are required to purchase liability insurance in the amount of $350,000 per occurrence. [7]
Settling medical malpractice cases in Tennessee
Seeing a case through to the end of a trial can take an extraordinary amount of time, money and resources. For those reasons, it is not uncommon for a case to settle prior to trial. The law in Tennessee does not require mandatory arbitration, mediation, or the submission of your medical malpractice case to a screening panel as a form of alternative dispute resolution prior to the claim reaching the trial stage of litigation.
Some common types of alternative dispute resolution methods are mediation and arbitration.
Litigating medical negligence cases in Tennessee
A claim for medical malpractice in Tennessee is initiated by preparing a Complaint and Summons that must be served on the named defendants in your case. The defendant is then required to file a document that is called the Answer which provides responses to the allegations you made in the complaint and will also list the affirmative defenses that will be used.
If the parties to a medical malpractice lawsuit are unable to reach a settlement, the claim will proceed to trial.
The Tennessee court system consists of the following courts: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Court of Criminal Appeals, Circuit Court, Chancery Court, General Sessions Court, Probate Court, and Juvenile Court. [8]
In Tennessee, a civil lawsuit begins with the filing of a complaint with the clerk of the court. The law in Tennessee then requires that once a complaint is filed, the court clerk will issue a summons which will be served upon the named defendants by the Sheriff.
The law in Tennessee allows each side to obtain discovery by:
The law in Tennessee does not mandate that claims of medical malpractice first be heard during an arbitration proceeding prior to the case reaching the trial stage of litigation. Therefore, if the involved parties are not able to come to a settlement agreement, the case will go to trial.
During a trial, all admissible evidence will be presented to the 'trier of fact' who is a person or group of people who hear testimony and review evidence in order to issue a ruling in favor of one party or another. There are two potential triers of fact in a personal injury case in the state of Tennessee: a judge or a jury. In Tennessee, a civil jury usually consists of 12 members and all 12 members must agree in order for a verdict to be decided. The parties may, however, stipulate that a jury shall consist of any number less than twelve.
In Tennessee, a person is considered to be qualified to be a juror if they are:
A resident of the State of Tennessee and of the county in which he or she may be summoned for jury service
To appeal the decision of a lower court, you must file a Notice of Appeal with the clerk of the circuit court that entered the judgment no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the original judgment. [9]
How to find the best Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawyer for your case
Some notable medical malpractice law decisions from Tennessee
These cases represent awards to plaintiffs in medical malpractice cases in Tennessee. These results are in no way a guarantee that subsequent, similar, cases will see the same results.
Johnson v. Dyersburg Regional Medical Center
A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed against Dyersburg Regional Medical Center, Joseph Flagge, M.D.; and Alan Hopkins by the parents of Jonathan Reynolds - David Reynolds and Debbie Flowers.
Jonathan Reynolds visited Upon This Rock Amusement with the intention of playing laser tag. However, Jonathan injured himself when he fell on an exposed nail head. He was then taken to Dyersburg Regional Medical Center where Dr. Flagge and Hopkins treated him. It was then that Dr. Hopkins and other medical personnel failed to take proper precautions to avoid infection, including the failure to administer necessary and appropriate antibiotics and other medicines.
Jonathan was discharged the same day of his injury but was then admitted into the medical center two days later with excruciating pain and redness and swelling that was steadily moving up his leg. Dr. Randy Isaacs, failed at that time to properly diagnose the flesh-eating bacteria that was causing Jonathan's pain. A few days after the second trip to Dyersburg Regional Medical Center, another doctor determined that Jonathan's condition was significant.
At trial, it was argued that not only did Jonathan suffer severe physical injuries from the hospital's negligence with most of the flesh from his knee to his groin decomposing, requiring extensive tissue removal and skin grafts, but he also suffered severe brain injuries. Jonathan's condition caused him to slip into a coma for two weeks where he suffered from seizures that caused permanent brain damage.
The original medical malpractice case ended in a mistrial but was later reheard. After the conclusion of the second trial, the jury returned a verdict for a judgment of $7.8 million.
Hill v. OB-GYN
The plaintiffs, Courtney and Robert Hill, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Courtney's OB-GYN for failing to properly diagnose breast cancer.
Courtney Hill originally called her OB-GYNs office and reported to the receptionist that she had found a lump in her breast which had persisted for two months with possible dimpling and asked whether she should come in immediately.
At that time, a nurse gave Courtney's message in writing to her doctor with a question to the doctor of whether the patient should have a mammogram. The doctor replied in the negative and told Courtney to come to the office in two weeks – when Courtney already had a scheduled appointment.
At the regularly scheduled appointment, the doctor performed a scheduled procedure and had to be reminded to examine the complained of lump. A palpation examination of the lump was conducted and the doctor informed the plaintiff that it was a cyst and nothing to worry about. An ultrasound was never ordered.
Later, after becoming pregnant, the plaintiff was seen in the same doctor's office on 16 occasions without further evaluation or testing.
The complained of lump became larger after giving birth and the plaintiff attempted to see the doctor but could not due to the doctor's busy schedule. She then scheduled an appointment with the doctor's partner, who examined the breasts, found a suspicious mass and immediately ordered a mammogram and ultrasound, which confirmed a 4 cm mass. A biopsy the next day proved breast cancer.
Ultimately, the plaintiff's treatment included nine to ten separate rounds of chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, a complete hysterectomy and radiation treatment.
At trial, the doctor argued that she complied with acceptable standard of medical care through her evaluation of the lump by palpation alone. The jury did not agree and awarded the Plaintiffs a total of $23.6 million in damages.
[1] Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116
[2] McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52
[3] Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-104
[4] Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-104
[5] Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-115(a)
[6] Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-307
[7] Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-403
[8] Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-302
[9] Tenn. Appellate Rules, Rule 4