Nashville Fatal Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Protecting the rights of surviving family members of medical malpractice resulting in death
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other health professional's actions in treating or failing to treat a patient in their care deviates from the accepted standard of care that would be expected from a competent medical professional with similar training in the same specialty under similar circumstances. The family members of those who die due to medical negligence can choose to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The suit can be filed against the doctor or hospital in order to recover compensation for their losses associated with the passing of their family member.
At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm we are Gladiators in Suits who fight against the huge insurance companies on behalf of our clients in Nashville, Hendersonville, Clarksville, and throughout Tennessee. You can trust our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys to be your advocates and to protect the right of families to compensation when you have lost a loved one due to medical malpractice. We do not stop until we have won compensation for our client’s losses.
Answers to Your Questions
- What are the requirements for proving medical malpractice?
- Why types of medical malpractice cause fatalities in Nashville?
- Who is responsible for the wrongful death of a patient in Nashville?
- Why do you need a Nashville medical malpractice attorney?
- Do you have a fatal medical malpractice lawyer near me?
"When I was a teenager, Dad got hurt. Insurance company wouldn't pay. We lost our house. But, Dad got a lawyer and we got justice. That's the moment I decided to become an attorney. As a lawyer, I have dedicated my life to helping injury victims."
~ Rocky
What are the requirements for proving medical malpractice?
In a case where your loved one’s death was caused by medical malpractice, there are two issues at play: the first is proving medical malpractice, and the second involves filing a wrongful death action because the cause of death was medical negligence.
To prove medical malpractice, you must prove that the care your loved one received deviated from the accepted standard of care, and that it was this deviation that caused your loved one’s death. To build a malpractice case, your attorney will work with a medical expert. The expert will review the case files, investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, and decide whether what transpired could be considered a preventable medical error and substandard care.
When an individual's death is caused by the negligent act of another, as in the case of medical malpractice, immediate family members can pursue legal action under Tennessee's wrongful death laws. There are actually two different types of legal actions that family members might pursue: the first is a survival action and the second is a wrongful death action. (TN Code § 20-5-113 (2021))
Survival action. The personal representative of someone who has been killed can pursue compensation for the damages suffered by the deceased including:
- Pain and suffering
- Medical and other expenses incurred by the deceased from the incident until their death
Wrongful death action. The immediate family members – husband, wife, mother, father, child – can file a wrongful death lawsuit to compensate them for the loss of their loved one including:
- Lost income
- Loss of future earnings
- Medical and funeral expenses
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of parental guidance
Why types of medical malpractice cause fatalities in Nashville?
A patient's death from a preventable medical error can be caused by many different conditions such as:
- Misdiagnosis of a disease/ failure to treat. This type of malpractice occurs when a physician diagnoses a patient with the wrong disease and treats them for that wrong disease while the disease they are actually suffering from goes untreated and causes their death.
- Hospital acquired infections. In this type of malpractice, an individual contracts an infection that is unrelated to the purpose of their hospital stay and dies in the hospital from that unrelated infection.
- Surgical errors. Mistakes in the operating room can cause unnecessary injury and death to patients. Common errors involve not handling expected emergencies competently, leaving instruments in the patient, operating on the wrong body part, and other mistakes.
- Anesthesia errors. Anesthesiologists can make mistakes in calculating how much medication to administer to a patient, which may result in the patient's death.
- Prescription errors. Doctors, hospitals, and pharmacists who prescribe the wrong medication or the correct medication but in the improper dosage amount can cause a patient to die.
At Rocky McElhaney Law Firm, our medical malpractice wrongful death attorneys handle the full range of medical malpractice claims that result in death including claims stemming from:
Who is responsible for the wrongful death of a patient in Nashville?
Our Nashville wrongful death and medical malpractice lawyers file claims against every healthcare provider that contributed to the death of a loved one. The defendants may include:
- Family doctors
- Specialist physicians
- ER staff
- Hospitals
- Surgical doctors
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Other healthcare providers such as midwives and medical technicians
Our lawyers are experts in gaining justice for victims of medical malpractice and their families.
Why do you need a Nashville medical malpractice attorney?
The compassionate medical malpractice attorneys at Rocky McElhaney Law Firm understand how complicated it can be to prove that a death was caused by a preventable medical error. Cases that involve proving medical malpractice and then pursuing a wrongful death claim involve a cross-section of two different areas of law. You need experts with years of experience winning these types of cases.
You will likely be going up against powerful attorneys for large insurance companies whose chief aim is to pay out as little as they can get away with. Our main goal is to fight for you and to make sure that you get the most favorable settlement possible. Our medical malpractice wrongful death attorneys have compassion for you at such a sensitive time while we pursue the responsible party aggressively.
Do you have a fatal medical malpractice lawyer near me?
Rocky McElhaney Law Firm meets with the families of loved ones who die due to medical malpractice at our East Nashville office located at 615 Main St., B21. We have another Nashville office located at 545 Mainstream Dr #105.
Our medical malpractice lawyers also meet clients in:
- Hendersonville: 475 Saundersville Rd.
- Clarksville: 2197 Madison Street, Suite 103
We’ll guide you through each phase of the wrongful death claim process and your medical malpractice claim. We work with a network of doctors who are skilled at analyzing medical malpractice and testifying in court.
Fighting for fair compensation for our clients throughout MiddleTennessee
Dealing with the senseless death of a loved one at the hands of a doctor can be devastating. Rocky McElhaney Law Firm fights on behalf of family members of those who have died due to medical malpractice in Tennessee. We will shoulder the burden with you, and we take on the legal challenges while you heal from your loss. To schedule a consultation with a compassionate wrongful death attorney, please call 615-425-2500 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation. We proudly represent clients throughout Tennessee.