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★ Tennessee · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Tennessee.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Tennessee calls medical malpractice a health care liability action, and it has more traps before you file than almost any other claim. Miss the 60 day notice or the certificate of good faith and the case can be dismissed before anyone looks at what went wrong.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Tennessee

Notice before suingWritten notice to each provider you will sue, at least 60 days before filing.Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121; Byington v. Reaves (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021)
Certificate of good faithFiled with the complaint, confirming an expert has reviewed the case. Missing it was one of the grounds for dismissal raised in Byington.Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-122; Byington v. Reaves (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021)
Deadline to sueOne year from the injury, or one year from when it was discovered. Proper notice extends the deadline by 120 days.Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 29-26-116(a)(2), 29-26-121(c); Gardner v. Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital (Tenn. 2023)
Outer limitThree years from the negligent act, whatever you knew, except where the provider fraudulently concealed it.Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116(a)(3); Gardner (Tenn. 2023)
Cap on pain and suffering$750,000 per patient. A spouse’s loss of consortium claim shares the same $750,000.Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-39-102; Yebuah (Tenn. 2021)
Medical bills the jury seesThe full billed amounts, even in a health care case. The Supreme Court held in 2023 that the health care liability statute did not displace this rule on the facts before it.Crotty v. Flora (Tenn. 2023)
Refiling after a dismissalA plaintiff who dismisses, gives proper notice, and refiles can still get the 120 day extension.Rajvongs v. Wright (Tenn. 2013)
united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Tennessee. See the number for your own case.

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★ TN · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Tennessee courts have awarded.

Real Tennessee decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Yebuah v. Center for Urological Treatment
    Tennessee Supreme Court · 2021
    $4,000,000 noneconomic verdict, cut to $750,000 total

    Part of a gelport device was left inside a patient after surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. The jury awarded her $4 million and her husband $500,000 for loss of consortium. The Supreme Court held the couple share a single $750,000 cap, reversing the lower courts that had allowed $1,250,000.

  • Crotty v. Flora
    Tennessee Supreme Court · 2023
    Ruling before trial, no award yet

    A patient sued a urologist over complications after kidney stone surgery in which a stent was placed. The Supreme Court held the defendant could not blame a nonparty doctor he had not named in his answer, and that the jury may see the full medical bills.

★ TN · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Tennessee.

  1. 1

    The procedure decides many Tennessee malpractice claims before the merits do. The notice must go to each provider at least 60 days before filing, and the certificate of good faith must be filed with the complaint. Byington shows how a missing notice or certificate becomes the first motion to dismiss.

  2. 2

    The cap is the ceiling on the human side of the case. Yebuah is the clearest example: a $4 million jury verdict for a retained surgical device became $750,000, and the husband’s separate award was folded into the same amount. Serious malpractice claims in Tennessee are valued mainly on the medical costs and lost earnings that the cap does not touch.

  3. 3

    Discovery rules help, but the three year repose does not bend. If a problem surfaces two years after surgery, you have one year from discovery, but no more than three years from the surgery itself unless the provider hid the error.

★ TN · statute of limitations
1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the US

Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104

★ TN · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault under McIntyre v. Balentine (1992).

★ TN · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a medical negligence settlement in Tennessee.

★ medical negligence · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Tennessee's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence page
Tennessee · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar1 year from date of injury, among the shortest in the US—
TexasModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryTX · medical negligence →
VirginiaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryVA · medical negligence →
West VirginiaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryWV · medical negligence →
AlabamaPure contributory negligence2 years from date of injuryAL · medical negligence →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · medical negligence →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · medical negligence →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · medical negligence →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · medical negligence →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · medical negligence →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · medical negligence →
VermontModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryVT · medical negligence →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · medical negligence →
★ TN · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Tennessee. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-28.

★ all of TN
Tennessee overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Tennessee as a whole.

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Tennessee. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.