Memphis Hospitals and Trauma Centers After an Accident

A Level I trauma center is the highest designation a hospital can receive from the American College of Surgeons. It means the hospital has 24-hour in-house coverage by general surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, and other specialists. These hospitals handle the most severe, life-threatening injuries — major car accidents, falls from significant heights, and multi-system trauma. Memphis has two Level I trauma centers: one for adults and one for children.

Regional One Health — Elvis Presley Trauma Center — 877 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103. Phone: (901) 545-7100. Regional One Health (formerly known as The MED) operates the only ACS-verified adult Level I trauma center in Memphis and within a 150-mile radius. The Elvis Presley Trauma Center earned its ACS verification in November 2025 with zero deficiencies and holds Level I designations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. It treats over 4,500 trauma patients per year — one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation. The facility includes a 22-bed trauma ICU, an 18-bed general ICU, a 28-bed trauma step-down unit, and the region's only accredited burn center. Regional One is the primary destination for ambulance-transported severe trauma in the Memphis metro area.

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital — 848 Adams Avenue (main entrance) / 50 North Dunlap Street (mailing), Memphis, TN 38103. Phone: (901) 287-5437. Le Bonheur is the only ACS-verified Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in the Memphis region. Part of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, the hospital has approximately 255 beds and is ranked among the nation's Best Children's Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report. Le Bonheur has earned ACS verification four consecutive times. If a child is seriously injured in an accident in the Memphis area, paramedics will transport them to Le Bonheur.

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is a six-hospital not-for-profit system established in 1918 by The United Methodist Church. It is one of the largest healthcare systems in the Memphis metro area and provides emergency services at multiple locations across the city and suburbs.

Methodist University Hospital (flagship) — 1265 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104. Phone: (901) 516-7000. Approximately 583 beds. Methodist University Hospital is the principal teaching hospital of UT Health Science Center and provides a 24-hour emergency department. It is recognized by U.S. News & World Report and offers comprehensive emergency and surgical services. This is one of the largest hospitals in the Memphis metro.

Methodist North Hospital — 3960 New Covington Pike, Memphis, TN 38128. Phone: (901) 516-5200. Methodist North has served the Raleigh, Bartlett, Frayser, Millington, and Tipton County communities since 1978. It provides emergency services for the northern Memphis metro area.

Methodist South Hospital — 1300 Wesley Drive, Memphis, TN 38116. Located in the Whitehaven area of South Memphis with emergency department services. Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital — 7691 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138. Phone: (901) 516-6000. Approximately 309 beds, serving the Germantown and eastern suburbs. Includes a Le Bonheur Pediatric Emergency Department for children's emergencies on the east side of the metro.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis — 6019 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, TN. Baptist Memorial is a 706-bed hospital on an 80-acre medical campus. The Walnut Grove campus also houses Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women, Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children's Hospital, Baptist Memorial Restorative Care Hospital, Baptist Heart Institute, and Baptist Women's Health Center. Baptist Memorial Health Care operates 22 hospitals across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. The Memphis flagship provides a full-service 24-hour emergency department.

Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis — 5959 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN. Saint Francis Memphis is a 519-bed hospital on a 42-acre campus with a 24-hour emergency department. It is part of Tenet Healthcare and offers comprehensive emergency and surgical services.

Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett — 2986 Kate Bond Road, Bartlett, TN 38133. Phone: (901) 820-7000. Saint Francis Bartlett is a 196-bed hospital and the first and only full-service hospital in Bartlett. It provides a 24-hour emergency room, 8 surgery suites, a Women's Center, NICU, and ICU. If your accident happened in the Bartlett, Cordova, or eastern Shelby County area, Saint Francis Bartlett is a nearby option for emergency care.

Call 911 or go directly to the emergency room for any of these symptoms after an accident: loss of consciousness (even briefly), heavy or uncontrollable bleeding, suspected broken bones or joint dislocations, chest pain or difficulty breathing, severe abdominal pain, numbness or tingling in your extremities, severe headache or confusion, neck or back pain, or any injury where you cannot move a body part. Paramedics will assess your injuries at the scene and transport you to the nearest appropriate facility — for the most severe trauma, that means Regional One Health.

Urgent care is appropriate for minor injuries that are not life-threatening but still need medical attention: small cuts requiring stitches, minor sprains and strains, bruises, and general pain that developed after an accident. Urgent care clinics from Methodist, Baptist, and Saint Francis are located throughout the Memphis metro. However, most urgent care clinics do not have CT scan or MRI capabilities for detecting fractures, internal bleeding, or head injuries.

When in doubt, go to the ER. Many serious injuries from car accidents — internal bleeding, concussions, organ damage, spinal injuries — do not show obvious external symptoms immediately. Adrenaline can mask pain for hours after an accident. Going to the ER creates a medical record that directly connects your injuries to the accident, which is critical for your personal injury claim. Tennessee has a 1-year statute of limitations for personal injury (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104), so documenting injuries early matters even more.

When you arrive at the emergency room, be thorough and specific about what happened and how you feel. Tell the intake nurse and the treating physician exactly how the accident occurred — whether it was a rear-end car crash, a T-bone collision, a slip on a wet floor, or something else. Describe the forces involved: the approximate speed, whether your airbags deployed, whether you were wearing a seatbelt, and whether your body struck anything inside the vehicle.

Report every symptom, no matter how minor it seems. Headache, neck stiffness, tingling in your fingers, ringing in your ears, dizziness, nausea, and back pain can all indicate serious underlying injuries like concussions, whiplash, or herniated discs. If you do not report a symptom at the ER, the insurance company may later argue that injury either did not exist at the time of the accident or was caused by something else. Be specific: say 'lower back pain radiating to my left leg' rather than just 'back pain.'

Ask the ER to document everything. Request copies of all imaging (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs), lab work, and the discharge summary. If the doctor recommends follow-up care — an orthopedic specialist, neurologist, or physical therapy — make those appointments immediately. Insurance companies look for gaps in treatment as evidence that your injuries are not as serious as you claim.

Your medical records from the ER visit and all follow-up treatment form the backbone of your personal injury claim. Tennessee follows a modified comparative fault system (Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-11-103) — if you are 50% or more at fault for the accident, you recover nothing. If you are 49% or less at fault, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. Medical records establish two things the insurance company will scrutinize: causation (proving the accident caused your injuries) and damages (proving how much those injuries cost you).

Under Tennessee law, healthcare providers must furnish your medical records within 10 working days of receiving a written request (Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-2-101). Failure to comply can result in disciplinary action from the provider's licensing board. Copying fees are capped at $20 for records of 5 pages or fewer, plus $0.50 per page after the first 5 pages, plus actual mailing costs (Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-2-102). The provider may require payment before releasing records.

Keep a file of every medical document related to your accident: ER records, imaging reports, specialist consultations, physical therapy notes, prescription records, and bills. Tennessee's 1-year statute of limitations for personal injury (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104) is one of the shortest in the country — do not wait to organize your records or consult an attorney. The clock starts running on the date of your injury.

After your initial ER visit, follow-up care is critical — both for your physical recovery and for your legal claim. If the ER refers you to an orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, or physical therapist, schedule those appointments within the first week. Insurance adjusters specifically look for treatment gaps — periods where you stopped seeking medical care — to argue that your injuries resolved or were not serious.

Common follow-up referrals after car accidents in Memphis include orthopedic specialists for fractures and soft tissue injuries, neurologists for concussions and traumatic brain injuries, physical therapists for rehabilitation, pain management specialists for chronic pain, and mental health professionals for PTSD, anxiety, or depression. All of these treatments produce medical records that document the ongoing impact of the accident on your life.

If you cannot afford follow-up care, tell your attorney. Most personal injury attorneys in the Memphis area work on contingency and can help you access medical providers who will treat you on a lien basis — meaning the provider agrees to wait for payment until your case settles. Regional One Health has financial assistance programs for patients who qualify based on income.

If you have been in an accident in Memphis and received medical treatment, get your free Injury Claim Check. You will answer a few quick questions about your accident and injuries, and we will give you a personalized report that includes Tennessee's filing deadline for your specific claim, your legal options based on the details of your accident, and whether connecting with a personal injury attorney makes sense for your situation.

With Tennessee's 1-year statute of limitations, time matters more here than in most states. Our Injury Claim Check gives you clear, actionable information about what comes next. Free, confidential, and takes less time than sitting in a waiting room.