The 120-day extension of the statute of limitations granted to health care liability plaintiffs who give proper pre-suit notice under the HCLA does not apply to or extend the Saving Statute. The Tennessee Supreme Court addressed the interplay between pre-suit notice, the 120-day statute of limitations extension, and the Saving…
Articles Posted in Medical Negligence
Healthcare liability case barred by statute of repose.
In a Tennessee health care liability (HCLA)d case based on the defendants’ failure to disclose CT scan results to the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs could not rely on fraudulent concealment to toll the statute of repose where the defendants were unaware of the undisclosed test results. The plaintiff patient in…
HCLA (Medical Malpractice) summary judgment based on cancellation rule affirmed.
Because an HCLA (Medical Malpractice) plaintiff is required to prove the elements of his claim through expert testimony, summary judgment was affirmed after the trial court applied the cancellation rule to plaintiff’s expert’s conflicting testimony regarding damages. In Simmons v. Islam, No. M2023-01698-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 3, 2024), the…
Common knowledge exception did not apply to HCLA transport case.
Plaintiff’s HCLA claim that defendant medical facility failed to advise a transportation service of his mobility issues required expert medical proof. In Dickerson v. United Medical Transportation LLC, No. W2023-01084-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 23, 2024), plaintiff had been a patient at defendant medical facility. Upon plaintiff’s discharge, defendant arranged…
Summary judgment based on HCLA statute of limitations reversed.
Where there was a question of fact regarding when the plaintiff should have discovered her injury in a health care liability case, as the pain she experienced was a potential side effect of her dental procedures, summary judgment for the defendant dentist was reversed. In Price v. The Center for…
Discussion of the “common knowledge” and “extraordinary cause” excuses to avoid compliance with filing a certificate of good faith
Thinking about not filing a certificate of good faith in a health care liability action in Tennessee? Read this opinion to learn the potential issues when one raises the “common knowledge” exception to the general rule requiring experts in such cases and the “extraordinary cause” required to avoid dismissal if…
Substantial compliance standard for pre-suit notice HIPPA authorizations.
Plaintiffs must show substantial compliance, not strict compliance, with HCLA requirement that HIPAA authorization be included with their pre-suit notice. In a memorandum opinion in Moxley v. AMISUB SFH, Inc., No. W2023-00220-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. April 24, 2024), the Court of Appeals vacated dismissal of an HCLA claim because the…
Wrong Site Surgery – An Example
MagMutual, a professional liability insurer for physicians and surgeons, does an excellent job trying to educate doctors about how to avoid mistakes that cause injury or death and subsequent medical malpractice lawsuits. The company recently released a case study on wrong site surgery. “Wrong site surgery” occurs when a doctor…
Medication Errors Result in Injury and Death
MagMutual, a leading healthcare liability insurer of physicians and surgeons, reports that “[m]edication errors account for 8% of medical malpractice claims among family practitioners insured by MagMutual. It is estimated that about 50% of medication errors are due to ordering issues, including wrong medication, wrong dose or wrong route.” The…
HCLA dismissal based on statute of limitations partially reversed.
Where plaintiff’s HCLA complaint cited alleged negligent acts that occurred at different times over a period of a few months, the trial court’s dismissal of the complaint as time-barred was affirmed in part and reversed in part. Dismissal of the claims related to the care plaintiff received less than one…