Where an HCLA plaintiff added a claim for wrongful death to her health care liability action after her husband passed away, but she failed to file a certificate of good faith with her amended complaint, dismissal was affirmed. In Allen v. Dehner, No. M2023-01750-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 5, 2025),…
A doctor’s experience in an emergency room did not make him competent to testify under the HCLA about the post-surgical care the plaintiff received. In Hurley v. Pickens, No. E2023-01610-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 4, 2025), the plaintiff filed a health care liability claim based on the care he received…
Because the HIPAA authorizations included with a health care liability plaintiff’s pre-suit notice included limiting language, the authorizations did not comply with the HCLA and thus plaintiff’s medical malpractice claims were dismissed. In Curtis v. Sharp, No. E2023-01583-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 29, 2025), the plaintiff sent pre-suit notice of…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…