Medical Malpractice Lawyers Knoxville, TN
Mr. Trotz was recognized from 2019-2023 as a Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star. Mr. Trotz is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. READ OUR EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Mr. Trotz was recognized from 2019-2023 as a Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star. Mr. Trotz is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. READ OUR EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Mr. Trotz was recognized from 2019-2023 as a Super Lawyers Mid-South Rising Star. Mr. Trotz is also a member of the Young Lawyers Division of the Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association where he serves on the Executive Committee. READ OUR EDITORIAL GUIDELINES
Doctors in Tennessee must be held accountable when they make mistakes. If you’ve been injured by a medical error by a medical provider in Knoxville, call NST Law. Our Knoxville medical malpractice attorneys have the experience and resources you’ll need to force a fair fight and maximize your financial recovery.
Every year, medical errors are responsible for countless patient injuries and deaths. In fact, some researchers estimate that medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death nationwide. Whether you’ve suffered from medical negligence or lost a close family member because of a doctor’s carelessness, you have the right to demand accountability. NST Law’s experienced Knoxville medical malpractice lawyers can help you fight to make things right.
Since 1990, NST Law has helped victims of medical malpractice stand up to powerful doctors, hospitals, and health care providers in Knoxville and across Tennessee. We’ve emerged as leaders in medical malpractice litigation, helping clients win over $2 billion in settlements and jury awards.
Don’t let your doctor or the Knoxville hospital off the hook for their mistakes. Call the Champs and force them to take accountability for the harm they’ve caused. We offer a free consultation, so contact our law office in Knoxville, Tennessee, to schedule yours today.
Table Of Contents
- How NST Law Can Help If You’ve Been the Victim of Medical Negligence in Knoxville
- Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
- What Do I Have to Prove to Win My Medical Malpractice Case?
- What Damages Can Be Recovered in a Knoxville Medical Malpractice Claim?
- Hospitals in Knoxville
- What Is the Statute of Limitations for Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawsuits?
- Call Our Experienced Knoxville Medical Malpractice Lawyers For A Free Consultation
- Knoxville Medical Malpractice FAQs
How NST Law Can Help If You’ve Been the Victim of Medical Negligence in Knoxville
Medical negligence is so common that researchers estimate one-third of all doctors will be sued for malpractice at some time during their careers.
Despite the prevalence of malpractice litigation, it can be quite difficult for an injured patient or devastated family member to succeed. That’s thanks, in part, to the fact that medical malpractice laws in Tennessee are designed more to protect providers and hospitals than victims. Not to mention that many hospitals are run by billion-dollar corporations with unlimited financial resources to fight malpractice claims. However, you can set yourself up for a successful outcome by enlisting the help of our award-winning Knoxville, TN, personal injury lawyers. We’re known as Champions for the Injured for a reason. We’re successful trial attorneys who regularly help our clients take on powerful adversaries and win life-changing results. Turn to our top-rated law firm to handle your medical malpractice lawsuit, and count on us to do the following:
- Complete a Certificate of Good Faith supported by expert testimony to demonstrate the legitimacy of your claim
- Coordinate a thorough independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding your medical treatment
- Analyze medical records, hospital charts, provider notes, test results, video footage, photographs, and other evidence
- Depose members of your health care team, hospital staff, and other parties with information about the medical care you received
- Prepare and file all legal claims and documents with the insurance company and local court
- Build a compelling legal claim that forces the hospital to negotiate fairly and extend a reasonable settlement offer
Types of Medical Malpractice Cases
For more than three decades, NST Law has provided top-tier legal representation to clients in medical malpractice cases involving:
- Misdiagnosis
- Missed diagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat
- Anesthesia errors
- Emergency room errors
- Surgical errors
- Wrong-site surgery
- Prescription medication errors
- Birth injury
- Fatal medical errors
We know that medical errors can happen for a multitude of reasons—overworked and fatigued providers, understaffed facilities, failure to listen to patient concerns, failure to order necessary labs or diagnostic tests, and staff miscommunications, among others.
When you turn to us for help, our medical malpractice attorneys in Knoxville will carefully evaluate the details of your medical care and analyze the steps your provider took or didn’t take to help you get better. Our team will consult with medical specialists and professionals who can lend insight into what should have been done and what might have gone wrong.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win My Medical Malpractice Case?
Malpractice means that a professional failed to measure up to the standards expected of them within their profession. Medical malpractice simply refers to a health care provider’s subpar care or treatment. Thus, at its core, medical malpractice is a matter of negligence.
When you file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Knoxville, Tennessee, you will have the burden of proving the following:
The Health Care Provider Owed You a Duty of Care
You’ll have to prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed. When this relationship exists, the health care provider assumes a duty to provide an appropriate level of care during the course of treatment.
What is an appropriate level of care? Tennessee law explains that doctors must provide “the recognized standard of acceptable professional practice in the profession and the specialty thereof.” In other words, doctors must deliver the level of care, skill, and knowledge typically demonstrated by other professionals in the same area of medicine.
Note that the duty of care can also extend to other parties involved in your medical care, including nurses, hospital staff, and even the hospital itself.
The Health Care Provider Breached Their Duty of Care to You
The health care provider must breach the duty of care by failing to act or acting “with less than ordinary and reasonable care in accordance with such standard.” Thus, you must be able to identify how the doctor’s care fell below the accepted standards within the medical community in Knoxville.
Some examples of such breaches include neglecting to order a diagnostic test that another provider would have ordered, missing key symptoms of a particular condition, or prescribing the wrong medication or dose.
Your Injuries Are the Proximate Result of the Provider’s Actions or Omissions
It’s not enough to prove that your doctor made a mistake. You must also prove that your specific injury is the proximate result of the doctor’s actions or failure to act.
In other words, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt if it hadn’t been for the doctor’s mistake.
You’ve Suffered Damages
Finally, you must be able to identify damages resulting from the negligent medical care—such as medical bills, reduced quality of life, shortened life expectancy, or lost wages.
Proving that a health care provider in Knoxville was negligent can be a challenge. After all, doctors are respected pillars of the community backed by very powerful health care institutions. However, you can set yourself up for a successful result by calling The Champs for help with your medical malpractice lawsuit.
Our experience can greatly benefit you as you take on a powerful doctor or health care center in Knoxville. Call our law office to talk about the details of your medical negligence case today.
What Damages Can Be Recovered in a Knoxville Medical Malpractice Claim?
When you sue a doctor or hospital for malpractice in Knoxville, you can typically seek compensatory damages for your financial losses and your more difficult-to-value life changes.
These are known as economic damages and non-economic damages, respectively, and can include money for:
- Hospitalization, surgery, medical devices, medication, prosthetics, and other current medical bills
- Future medical expenses, including costs related to travel and lodging
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Nursing assistance
- Disability
- Reduced earning capacity
- Lost wages and income
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Chronic physical pain
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Inconvenience
Tennessee does not have a cap on economic damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice cases. However, non-economic awards, paid to offset the hard-to-value suffering victims of medical negligence experience, are limited to $750,000 in most cases.
- Hospitals in Knoxville
As one of the largest cities in Tennesee, Knoxville is home to numerous medical facilities and hospitals. Notable hospitals in Knoxville include:
- The University of Tennessee Medical Center
- North Knoxville Medical Center
- Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center
- Parkwest Medical Center
- East Tennessee Children’s Hospital
Several hospitals are also located on Knoxville’s outskirts, including Roane Medical Center, Jefferson Memorial Hospital, Turkey Creek Medical Center, and LeConte Medical Center.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawsuits?
You’ll have a limited time to file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Tennessee. Your claim must be filed within one year of discovering your injury but no more than three years from the act of medical negligence.
If a loved one dies from a Knoxville provider’s medical error, you’ll have one year to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
So, it is important to contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer near you in Knoxville if you suspect your doctor missed a diagnosis or made a mistake during treatment. Once the statute of limitations expires, you will lose the opportunity to file a claim and fight to hold the provider accountable for your injuries.
Call Our Experienced Knoxville Medical Malpractice Lawyers For A Free Consultation
Don’t struggle with the consequences of your doctor’s negligence alone. Call NST Law and ask us to help you fight to hold your doctor and the treating hospital accountable for their mistakes.
We offer a free consultation, so contact our medical malpractice attorneys in Knoxville to schedule yours today. Our team is always available to help—24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Knoxville Medical Malpractice FAQs
You trusted your doctor. They made a mistake that’s changed the course of your life forever. It’s easy to understand that you might be overwhelmed and flooded by many questions about your rights and the legal process ahead of you. NST Law has the answers you need.
There’s no upfront or out-of-pocket cost to hire our experienced Knoxville medical malpractice attorneys. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win your medical malpractice lawsuit.
Tennessee law limits attorney fees in medical malpractice cases to 33 1/3 percent of your gross recovery.
Anyone who assumes responsibility for your health and safety can be liable in a Tennessee medical negligence action.
Potentially liable parties might include:
- Primary care physicians
- Specialists, including obstetricians, pediatricians, and oncologists
- Pharmacists
- Anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- Hospital staff
- Chiropractors
- Dentists
- Hospital administration
- Hospitals
Under Tennessee law, liability is shared proportionately to fault. The greater role someone plays in your negligent medical care, the more responsibility they’ll share for resulting damages.
There’s no standard value for medical malpractice lawsuits in Knoxville. After all, every plaintiff’s story will be unique. The details of your story will drive valuation.
Important considerations include:
- The injury you’ve suffered
- Changes in your life expectancy
- Changes in your earning capacity or ability to work
- Whether you’ve become permanently disabled or impaired
- Out-of-pocket costs, especially for corrective medical treatment
- The psychological impact of the medical error
- Overall changes in your quality of life
- Your age
Make the most of your medical malpractice claim by hiring an experienced personal injury attorney near you in Knoxville with a winning reputation. At NST Law, we’ve won over $2 billion for our clients, including tens of millions in medical malpractice settlements and jury awards. We’re ready to fight for you. All you have to do is call and ask for our help today.
