Tennessee

Statute of Limitations

Medical Claim Generally:

“The statute of limitations in health care liability actions shall be one (1) year … in the event the alleged injury is not discovered within such one-year period, the period of limitation shall be one (1) year from the date of such discovery.” In addition, “in no event shall any such action be brought more than three (3) years after the date on which the negligent act or omission occurred except where there is fraudulent concealment on the part of the defendant, in which case the action shall be commenced within one (1) year after discovery that the cause of action exists.” [TCA § 29-26-116]

Minors:

Anyone under 18 “may commence the action, after the removal of such disability, within the time of limitation for the particular cause of action, unless it exceeds three (3) years, and in that case within three (3) years from the removal of such disability.” [TCA § 28-1-106]

Wrongful death:

A wrongful death claim must be filed within one year of the date of death. [Tennessee Code Annotated § 28-3-104]

Damage Caps

Noneconomic damages are capped at “$750,000 for all injuries and occurrences that were or could have been asserted, regardless of whether the action is based on a single act or omission or a series of acts or omissions that allegedly caused the injuries or death.” However, “if an injury or loss is catastrophic in nature” … “the amount of damages awarded as noneconomic damages shall not exceed, one million dollars” [TCA § 29-39-102]

Attorney Fee  Caps

Compensation by “a contingent fee arrangement shall be awarded to the claimant's attorney in a health care liability action in an amount to be determined by the court on the basis of time and effort devoted to the litigation by the claimant's attorney, complexity of the claim and other pertinent matters in connection therewith, not to exceed thirty-three and one third percent (331/3%) of all damages awarded to the claimant.” [TCA § 29-26-120]

Pre-suit

Requirements

Anyone “asserting a potential claim for medical malpractice shall give written notice of the potential claim to each health care provider that will be a named defendant at least sixty (60) days before the filing of a complaint based upon medical malpractice in any court of this state.” [TCA § 29-26-121] In addition, “the plaintiff or plaintiff's counsel shall file a certificate of good faith with the complaint. If the certificate is not filed with the complaint, the complaint shall be dismissed, as provided in subsection (c), absent a showing that the failure was due to the failure of the provider to timely provide copies of the claimant's records requested as provided in § 29-26-121 or demonstrated extraordinary cause.” [TCA § 29-26-122]

Expert

Qualifications

“No person in a health care profession requiring licensure under the laws of this state shall be competent to testify in any court of law to establish the facts required to be established by subsection (a), unless the person was licensed to practice in the state or a contiguous bordering state a profession or specialty which would make the person's expert testimony relevant to the issues in the case and had practiced this profession or specialty in one (1) of these states during the year preceding the date that the alleged injury or wrongful act occurred.”  [TCA § 29-26-115]

Negligent 

Credentialing Claims

Tennessee does not currently recognize negligent credentialing. [Tennessee Code § 63-6-219]