A medical malpractice lawsuit may be pursued when the negligent act or omission by a doctor or other medical professional causes the injury or death of a patient. Medical malpractice cases can be amongst the most difficult injury related cases to litigate. There are unique challenges that include special rules and time limits that apply to medical malpractice litigation. This article is designed to provide an overview of these special challenges in initiating a medical malpractice case.
Health care and insurance providers have lobbied for changes in medical malpractice laws making it much more difficult to recover against a doctor or other medical professional for injuries suffered from medical malpractice. Many states have enacted caps that limit recovery of damages and attorney fees in a medical malpractice case. Limits on recovery for non-economic damages have become common in many states. Non-economic damages include compensation for pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement and other forms of non-pecuniary loss.
The cap on non-economic damages in California, for example, is $250,000. Lost future earnings are typically the most significant portion of economic damages. Where the victim of medical malpractice is a young child, elderly person or has low earning capacity, the cap on non-economic damages can effectively prevent someone who suffers catastrophic injury or even death from seeking relief. Because medical malpractice cases are very expensive to litigate, a cap on non-economic damages can mean that a plaintiff whose earning capacity is low or difficult to establish will not be compensated for his injuries.
Tennessee has not yet relented to health care and insurance industry lobbyists. Advocates of tort reform champion calls for non-economic caps almost daily in the media. Tennessee remains one of the states where medical malpractice claims are still viable against negligent health care professionals.
Another barrier that is designed to prevent medical malpractice lawsuits is the statute of limitations, which is the time within which a medical malpractice lawsuit must be initiated. A medical malpractice action based on either personal injury or wrongful death must be brought within one year of the time the claimant discovered the injury under Tennessee medical malpractice law. Tenn. Code Ann. Section 29-26-116 (1980). Regardless of when the plaintiff discovers the injury, no action may be brought more than three years after which the negligent act or omission occurred unless it involves a foreign object. Id. A plaintiff who fails to initiate an action under Tennessee medical malpractice law within this narrow time window is permanently barred from filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Other Tennessee medical malpractice law requirements can also complicate compliance with the statute of limitations in a Tennessee medical malpractice case. Since some medical facilities are owned by public entities, an injured person may also have to comply with additional time limits that are applicable when making a claim against a governmental entity. These time limits are usually even shorter than those imposed by the statute of limitations.
Tennessee’s Medical Malpractice Act also requires written notice to each health care provider against whom a claim may be filed at least 60 days before initiating a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit by filing a complaint in civil court. This requirement further complicates a plaintiff’s obligation of meeting deadlines for initiating an action under Tennessee medical malpractice law. Deadlines for initiating a medical malpractice lawsuit and other prerequisites with timing requirements make consulting a Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer imperative as soon as one discovers he has been injured by a doctor or other medical provider.
Even after a medical malpractice case has been initiated by filing a complaint in civil court, a person must overcome another obstacle before proceeding under Tennessee medical malpractice law. Once the complaint initiating the medical malpractice case has been filed, the plaintiff has 90 days to file a Certificate of Good Faith. The Certificate of Good faith basically states that the plaintiff has consulted one or more medical experts who have provided a signed written statement that the plaintiff has a good faith basis to proceed or that from available facts there is additional information that is material to resolving the matter that cannot be ascertained from information reasonably available.
There are many unique obstacles and requirements that must be overcome if someone seeks compensation under Tennessee medical malpractice law even at the initial stages of the civil lawsuit. A qualified Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer will be familiar with these special timing and procedural requirements. The law firm of Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, PLC, also known as NST, is the largest personal injury firm in Tennessee. NST also has been acknowledged by Super Lawyers as one of the top 5% of law firms in the United States. If you or someone you love has been injured by the negligence of a medical provider, you should contact NST today.
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