can a lawsuit for medical malpractice be brought against a orthopedic surgeon if during a total knee replacement he cut a nerve or a few nerves ?

Whether you have a claim or not depends upon a couple of different factors:  (1) When your knee replacement surgery occurred.  If the surgery was more than 2 years ago and you began noticing problems with your knee immediately thereafter, then it is likely that the statute of limitations has expired, and you will no longer be able to pursue a claim.  (2) You will not have a claim for medical malpractice if the nerve damage that you experienced is a known and accepted risk of the knee replacement surgery that you underwent.   Medical malpractice cases are, as a general rule, very difficult to prevail on.  You would also need to have all of your records (especially the operative note) reviewed by another orthopedic surgeon to get his/her opinion on whether malpractice occurred before filing a lawsuit.  But, if your back surgeon and neurologist have already told you that they believe an error occurred which led to this problem, then you may be off to a good start.   Our office is located in the Philadelphia suburb of Media, PA, and we routinely handle complex medical malpractice and personal injury cases in the greater Philadelphia region.  If you would like to discuss you potential claim in more detail, I would be happy to speak with you.  Please feel free to call me directly at (610) 565-3700 or email me a mdavey@eckellsparks.com  Michael J. Davey, Esq. Eckell Sparks Law Firm