Memphis, Tennessee medical malpractice cases always seem to have a more than their fair share of twists and turns. This health care liability case has more twists and turns than the Cherohala Skyway TN 165 / NC143 from Tellico Plains to Robbinsville ( a great road for our motorcycling friends). During…
A Texas police officer has sued a 9-1-1 caller for failing to warn the 9-1-1 official (and thus the police officer) that the police responding to the call would be walking into a dangerous situation. The responding officer was attacked by a man at the home who had allegedly been…
Negligent infliction of emotional distress is a relatively new tort in Tennessee. True, the tort existed in the early days of Tennessee tort law (not by that name, but the root concept was out there) but the circumstances giving rise to liability were extremely narrow. All of that changed a…
The Illinois Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Lawlor v. North American Corporation of Illinois, Case No. 112530 (Oct. 18, 2012), holding that (a) the tort of intrusion upon seclusion is recognized in Illinois and (b) held that an employer liable for the torts of a non-employee private investigator…
The fungal meningitis outbreak will result in four different classes of those with claims for damages against those who are responsible for the harm: (1)those who die; (2) those who contract the disease and are treated with no long-range effects; (3) those who contract the disease, are treated, but are…
It takes a particular type of jerk to project a loogie onto a hamburger that is being served to another person. (I guess you would never do that to a hamburger you intended to eat yourself.) And there is a relatively small subset of jerks who would do this…
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that a plaintiff who asserted a claim of mental injury waived her right to assert that the psychotherapist-patient privilege protected her prior mental health records. In Dudley v. Jefferson Circuit Court, 2010-SC-000458-M (Ken. S.C. 6/10/2011) plaintiff brought a medical malpractice claim alleging, inter alia,…
If you have a potential claim for professional misconduct against a therapist for sexually abusing or inappropriately touching a patient, don’t forget that Tennessee has a special act for such torts. The act is known as the "Therapist Sexual Misconduct Victims Compensation Act." It is codified at T.C.A. Section 29-26-201…
Post 9 in our ongoing series of legislation of interest to tort lawyers addresses a new act that clarifies the responsibility of cemetary operators when they learn that a body has been interred in the wrong burial plot at the cemetery. If the cemetary operator complies with the statute no…
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a Tennessee Court of Appeals case on the proper instruction to the jury in an FELA case when the plaintiff is seeking damages for fear of developing lung cancer. The worker alleged that his work exposed him to asbestos, which caused asbestosis. He sought pain and…