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Articles Posted in Medical Negligence

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Close Enough for Horseshoes and Hand Grenades: Substantial Compliance Rather Than Strict Compliance in HealthCare Liability Case

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…

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Should Defense Counsel Be Permitted to Have Ex Parte Communications With a Patient’s Health Care Providers?

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…

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Another Day, Another Tennessee Medical Malpractice Notice Case

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.,…

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Tennessee Medical Malpractice Trial: The Third Time Is Not the Charm

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…

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Strange Facts, Familiar Ending — Another Tennessee HealthCare Liability Case Dismissed For Failure To Comply With The Notice Provision

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…

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Tennessee Health Care Liability Notice Statute and Its Interaction with the Savings Statute

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,…

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Another Tennessee Health Care Liability Case Dismissal For Notice Omission

This is a healthcare liability case with the central issues being (1) compliance with the notice provisions of the statute; and (2) the statute of limitations.  Here is the procedural history in the trial court:  September 25, 2009   – Decedent presented to the emergency room at Defendant Parkwest Hospital …

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Failure of Court to Strike Juror For Cause Results in Reversal Of Health Care Liability Verdict

The Kentucky Supreme Court has reversed a verdict for the defendants in a medical malpractice (health care liability) case because the trial judge failed to grant a request of the patient’s lawyer to strike two jurors for cause. The reversal was granted notwithstanding the fact that the lawyer for the…

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Motions to Alter or Amend and Notices of Appeal – Timing is Everything Under Tennessee Law

Tennessee Court of Appeals rules that Tennessee courts lose jurisdiction to reconsider dismissal when an aggrieved party fails to take proper action within the limited 30-day window after entry of final judgment. In Hailey v. Wesley of the South, Inc., d/b/a Wesley at Dyersburg, No. W2012-01629-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 19,…

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