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Tennessee Medical Malpractice (Health Care Liability)

Tennessee calls medical malpractice a 'health care liability action,' and it has strict, distinctive procedural traps: you must give each provider 60 days' written pre-suit notice (T.C.A. § 29-26-121) and file a certificate of good faith with the complaint (§ 29-26-122). The one-year deadline applies, with a three-year statute of repose as the outer limit (§ 29-26-116).

By Find Local Law Editorial Team · Last reviewed: May 25, 2026

Researched and drafted with AI assistance and verified against primary sources (statutes, Judicial Council forms, and official court websites). This is general information, not legal advice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Tennessee medical malpractice has strict procedural requirements and short deadlines that can end a case before it starts — talk to a Tennessee attorney as early as possible.

Tennessee law calls medical malpractice a “health care liability action” (Title 29, Chapter 26), and it has distinctive procedural steps that trip up the unwary. Getting them wrong can mean dismissal regardless of how strong the underlying case is.

Two requirements before and at filing

  • 60-day pre-suit notice (T.C.A. § 29-26-121). Before filing, you must give written notice to each prospective defendant provider at least 60 days in advance, including a HIPAA-compliant medical-records authorization. Proper notice also extends the limitations and repose periods by 120 days.
  • Certificate of good faith (T.C.A. § 29-26-122). Where expert testimony is required (it usually is), you must file a certificate of good faith with the complaint, confirming a qualified expert reviewed the records and found a good-faith basis for the claim. Failure to file generally results in dismissal.

The deadlines

  • One-year statute of limitations (T.C.A. § 28-3-104), subject to the discovery rule — the clock can start when you knew or should have known of the injury.
  • Three-year statute of repose (T.C.A. § 29-26-116) — an outer limit barring most claims more than three years after the act or omission, with narrow exceptions (fraudulent concealment, a foreign object left in the body).

Because these requirements are strict and the deadlines short, this is an area where getting a lawyer early genuinely matters. To get matched with a local Tennessee medical malpractice attorney, connect with a lawyer.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I have to do anything before filing a Tennessee malpractice suit?
Yes — two things. You must give at least 60 days' written pre-suit notice to each prospective defendant provider (T.C.A. § 29-26-121), and you must file a certificate of good faith with the complaint confirming a qualified expert found a good-faith basis for the claim (§ 29-26-122). Missing either can get the case dismissed.
Is there a final deadline even if I discover the harm late?
Yes. Beyond the one-year filing deadline, Tennessee has a three-year statute of repose (T.C.A. § 29-26-116) that bars most claims more than three years after the act or omission, with narrow exceptions like fraudulent concealment or a foreign object.
What's the basic time limit for a malpractice claim?
Generally one year from when you discovered (or should have discovered) the injury (T.C.A. § 28-3-104), with the three-year repose period as the hard outer limit. Proper pre-suit notice can extend the deadline by 120 days.

Sources

Related guides

  • Tennessee Bus Accident Claims Bus accident claims in Tennessee depend on who owns the bus. Private carriers are ordinary negligence claims. But claims against a public bus (city transit, a school bus) fall under the Governmental Tort Liability Act (T.C.A. § 29-20-101 et seq.), which has strict deadlines, caps recovery ($300,000 per person / $700,000 per accident), and bars punitive damages.
  • Tennessee Car Accident Claims Tennessee is an at-fault state, so the driver who caused a crash (through their insurer) is responsible for the other party's damages. Claims are ordinary negligence cases governed by the strict one-year filing deadline (T.C.A. § 28-3-104) and modified comparative fault. Drivers must carry at least 25/50/15 liability coverage.
  • Tennessee Motorcycle Accident Claims Motorcycle crash claims in Tennessee are negligence cases under the same one-year deadline and comparative-fault rules as other vehicle accidents. Tennessee has a universal helmet law (T.C.A. § 55-9-302) requiring all riders and passengers to wear a helmet, and how helmet use affects a claim is a fact-specific comparative-fault question.
  • Tennessee Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Claims Many Tennessee nursing home abuse and neglect claims are classified as 'health care liability actions,' meaning the pre-suit notice (T.C.A. § 29-26-121) and certificate-of-good-faith (§ 29-26-122) requirements may apply. Whether a specific claim falls under those rules is fact-specific, and conduct may also support abuse/neglect theories.
  • Tennessee Pedestrian Accident Claims A pedestrian hurt by a driver's negligence in Tennessee can bring a claim under the same one-year deadline and comparative-fault rules as other accidents. Drivers must yield to pedestrians lawfully in a crosswalk, while pedestrians crossing outside one generally must yield — and a pedestrian's own fault can reduce or, at 50% or more, bar recovery.
  • Tennessee Slip and Fall & Premises Liability In a Tennessee slip-and-fall (premises liability) claim, you must show the property owner created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of it and failed to fix or warn. Premises liability is largely common law, not a single statute. Comparative fault and the strict one-year deadline both apply.

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