The Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court’s decision to grant an extension to file certificate of good faith in a medical malpractice case, finding “good cause” based on parties’ confusion on Tennessee case law. In Stovall v. UHS of Lakeside, LLC , No. W2013-01504-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App.…
In Tennessee, before a plaintiff may file a lawsuit for medical malpractice, he or she must give pre-suit notice to the defendants in compliance with a Tennessee statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a). In Potter v. Perrigan, the Court of Appeals recently addressed whether a plaintiff who properly gives notice…
The recent case of Payne v. Tipton County gave the Tennessee Court of Appeals the opportunity to review the finding of the trial court of no liability on the part of the defendant, Tipton County, for failure to provide appropriate and timely medical care to an inmate. The inmate suffered a severe hypertensive…
This case involves the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act and the application of the three-year statute of repose. On December 19, 1999, Jessie Bentley suffered severe injuries during labor and delivery by the defendant medical providers. Suit was not filed until February 1, 2013 and the defendants all immediately moved for…
This is yet another Tennessee medical malpractice (health care liability) notice case and the issue is whether strict compliance is required for T.C.A. § 29-26-121 (a)(3) and (4), which requires an affidavit from the party mailing the notice. The underlying procedural facts were not in dispute: plaintiff fully and strictly complied…
Health care liability attorneys for defendants want the right to have private meetings with the doctors of patients who sue health care providers. Not just with the doctors who were sued, but also the other doctors who treated the patient over the years. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled years ago…
Long story short, Givens v. Vanderbilt Univ. M2013-00226-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 27, 2014), is a medical malpractice case that was dismissed without prejudice for failure to give pre-suit notice, since that is the appropriate remedy identified by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Stevens v. Hickman Community Health Care, Inc.,…
Tennessee health care liability (formerly called medical malpractice) cases are tough. Tough because there is lots of sympathy for the defendant health care providers. Tough because the defendants spare no expense and thus they are expensive for patients to try. Tough because the health care providers hire excellent lawyers. Tough…
On November, 9, 2009, plaintiff was an emergency room nurse at Erlanger Hospital. During her shift, a certified nurse anesthetist employed by the defendant was administering anesthesia to a patient. Near the end of the procedure, the patient awoke prematurely and was agitated. The patient tried to extubate herself and rise from the…
The health care liability notice statute continues to supply our courts with work that has nothing to do with the merits of the claim, defense lawyers with increased income for simply pivoting, and plaintiff’s lawyers with heartburn. The plaintiffs in Johnson v. Floyd, No. W2012-00207-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 6,…