Memphis Medical Malpractice Lawyers

In order to recover damages for medical malpractice, you will need to establish that your health care provider breached the standard of care while diagnosing or treating you. The standard of care in these cases comprises the accepted practices and procedures of the medical community in the same geographic area when treating patients with a similar medical history. The standard of care may depend on how old the patient is, their gender, the community where the negligence occurred, and any other medical conditions that they may have, among other factors.

You will need to establish that a breach of the standard of care caused your injuries. For example, if a surgeon leaves a sponge inside a body cavity while operating, this may cause you to suffer further injuries and result in a need for corrective surgery. On the other hand, a doctor may have failed to diagnose a serious illness in time to prevent it from advancing to a more dangerous or lethal stage.

The expert witness whom a plaintiff retains will play a crucial role in the lawsuit. Under Tennessee’s Medical Malpractice Act, the expert must testify as to the recognized standard of acceptable actions and omissions within the relevant profession and specialty at the time of the wrongful act. The expert needs to be licensed to practice in the state or a contiguous bordering state, and if a specialty is involved, it must be a specialty that makes the expert’s testimony relevant. For example, in a birth injury case, it may be necessary to retain as an expert a board-certified obstetrician to explain why your obstetrician’s actions during labor failed to meet the standard of care. Further, under recent changes in Tennessee law, expert review of medical reports is required before suit may be filed against any medical provider.

Each state has its own rules regarding statutes of limitations and caps on malpractice damages. Generally, however, there is a short window of time within which to bring your claim, and the statute of limitations starts running either from the date of your injury or the date on which you should reasonably have been aware of medical negligence.