Nashville Surgical Error Lawyers
Did You Suffer Serious Injuries During Surgery?
There is a certain amount of risk involved in any surgical procedure. However, when negligence on the part of surgeons and other operating room staff leads to injury, disability, or death, it is often considered a case of medical malpractice.
At Kinnard Law, our lawyers are highly-respected litigators with proven experience, resources, and results in surgical error and medical negligence cases. We are committed to helping our clients obtain compensation for their losses and making hospitals safer through legal advocacy.
Speak with an experienced surgical malpractice attorney in Nashville: (615) 933-2893.
Choose a Legal Team You Can Trust
Our firm’s results speak for themselves. We have an exceptional record of success and always go above and beyond for the individuals we represent.
What makes us qualified for your case?
- Countless national awards
- Record-setting medical malpractice verdict
- AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Board-Certified Medical Malpractice Specialists on staff
- Compassionate counsel that treats you like a person, not a case number
Common Examples of Surgical Errors
Surgical complications happen every year. In fact, research estimates that hospital errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S, with an estimated 440,000 deaths each year due to preventable hospital errors.
Surgical errors can leave patients with severe injuries to the brain and spinal cord, nerve damage, paralysis, and permanent disability. All too often, errors in the operating room result in wrongful death, leaving family members with grief, anger, and financial hardship.
We handle a wide range of surgery error cases, including those involving:
- Damage to internal organs: While performing surgery, all it can take is a minuscule slip of the scalpel, laser, or scissors to perforate or puncture a nearby organ. Organ tissue is incredibly delicate, but those minor slips can lead to severe and potentially lasting health complications.
- Nerve damage: Similar to internal organ damage, the slightest slip of a surgeon’s tool can lead to nerve damage. In especially bad cases, this can lead to numbness or loss of movement in the affected areas.
- Infection: If you’ve ever got a paper cut, you know just how quickly the open area can become infected. Now imagine that the paper cut is several inches long and internal organs are exposed, and you can imagine the dangers of infection in an operating room. Unsanitary surgical instruments can lead to infection, which is especially dangerous for someone with a compromised immune system and can lead to death.
- Anesthesia errors: Anesthesia is a concoction of chemicals that allows surgeons to perform their jobs without needing to give the patient a stick to bite down on, but when it isn’t administered correctly it can become a dangerous cocktail. Too much anesthesia, and the patient may never wake up, or wake up with brain damage. Not enough, and there’s a risk of the patient waking up mid-surgery.
What are Surgical "Never Events?"
“Never events” are what researchers call surgical mistakes that should never happen, and are usually caused by clerical or communication errors. During a study conducted from 1990-2010, results showed there were nearly 10,000 paid malpractice claims for “never event” cases, totaling $1.3 billion.
- Foreign objects: As hard as it may be to believe, research shows that surgeons accidentally leave a foreign object — like a sponge, towel, or other medical supply — inside their patients 39 times a week. This can cause anything from pain to infections to death, depending on the location and type of object left inside.
- Operating on the wrong patient: Research shows that the wrong procedure is performed on a patient 20 times per week. This can be caused by clerical errors, failure to properly identify which patient is on the operating table, and miscommunication between surgeons. This can lead to perfectly healthy organs being removed, along with other problems.
- Operating on the wrong area of the body: Even when the correct patient ends up on the operating table, things like clerical errors, failure to properly establish which procedure needs to be performed, and miscommunication can lead to the wrong surgery being performed. Research shows this occurs 20 times per week across the U.S. This can lead to issues similar to the ones listed above.
Most medical centers have patient safety procedures to help prevent these kinds of errors, but even with their precautions, mistakes can still happen. New technology, like surgical sponges with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags that can be detected with a scanner, will hopefully limit those mistakes.
Need Counsel? Contact Us Now!
Kinnard Law is here to guide you through your medical malpractice claim. Our Nashville surgical error attorneys have a firm grasp on the laws surrounding these matters and can ensure your rights and best interests are safeguarded throughout the process. Our firm truly cares about the clients we represent, bringing in independent investigators and medical experts whenever necessary.
Let us begin working on your case right away—call us now at (615) 933-2893.

Verdicts & Settlements
Unmatched Dedication Has Led to Record-Setting Victories-
Medical Malpractice - 62 Year Old Woman $22.2 Million
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Medical Malpractice - Largest Verdict in Weakley County History $15.2 Million
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Medical Malpractice - Davidson County $6.5 Million
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Wrongful Death of 22 Month Old $5 Million
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Medical Malpractice - 24 Year Old College Student $4 Million
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Wrongful Death - 16 Year Old Boy $3 Million
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Medical Malpractice 54 Year Old Woman $2.6 Million
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Medical Malpractice - Woman Loses an Organ $2 Million
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Medical Malpractice - 47 Year Old High School Principal $2 Million
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Medical Malpractice - Middle Tennessee State University Girl's Basketball Coach $2 Million

Client Testimonials
Helping the Injured Obtain Justice
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Integrity, above and beyond
“From a choice in the Yellow Pages to Success. This Law Firm has proven itself as absolutely professional, goal oriented, kind and compassionate in the past several years during my case. Mutual trust ...”
- H.W. -
In the hardest two years of my life, you provided the utmost trust, comfort, and support.
“Thank you Randy, Jennifer, and Cynthia so much for not only helping me get through what has been the hardest time of my life, but for always providing grace, trust, and a sense of comfort for what ...”
- T.H. -
We are very grateful.
“Our case was not easy. Many law firms would not be willing to get involved with a case this complicated and time-consuming. What Kinnard Law achieved on account of conquering numerous hurdles was ...”
- E.I. -
Great staff.
“I had the pleasure of working with a few different Kinnard Law lawyers after a personal injury. The process in its entirety took a couple years - which is longer than I anticipated, but also news to ...”
- J. -
100% Best Lawyers Around
“You have all been so kind and loving to our family! We appreciate all the hard work and dedication you all put in for our case.”
- J.S.
Awards & Accolades
Highly Respected in the Legal Community-
Randall Kinnard is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, a prestigious invite-only group comprised of the top 100 plaintiffs’ trial lawyers in the United States.
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Randall Kinnard (since 1993),
Mary Ellen Morris (since 2017),
and Jennifer Eberle (since 2022)
have all been recognized for their legal skill and achievements. -
The firm has received the prestigious “Best Law Firms” rating in the practice areas of Medical Malpractice Law, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation and Health Care Litigation.
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Attorney Randall Kinnard is a member of ABOTA, a nationwide organization of lawyers who care passionately about the trial system in the United States.
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Randall Kinnard is an inducted member of the ACTL, one of North America’s premier trial organizations comprised of less than 1% of all lawyers in each state.
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Randall Kinnard is a member of the invitation-only International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which is limited to 500 trial lawyers in the United States.
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Randall Kinnard is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invite-only honorary society comprised of less than .5% of all U.S. lawyers.
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Attorney Randall Kinnard was named the 2019 Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Nashville, TN.
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Randall Kinnard has been voted to TN Super Lawyers®. This organization recognizes the top 5% of attorneys in their practice area.
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Randall Kinnard and Mary Ellen Morris have received the highest rating for legal excellence by Martindale-Hubbell.
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Our attorneys have been voted by their peers to the "Top 40 under 40" Trial Lawyers list, as awarded by The National Trial Lawyers organization.
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Our firm’s trial attorneys have been recognized among the state’s leading legal minds, and named by Business TN Magazine to its coveted “150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee” list.
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Our attorneys have been named as 2023 “Best of the Bar” by Nashville Business Journal.
