Tennessee law has a one year statute of limitation in a medical malpractice (now called a health care liability) case. Formal legal notice must be given to health care providers who are going to be sued in the case and this notice must be given before the expiration of the…
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has released its annual statistical report on filings, verdicts and settlements in medical malpractice (now known as health care liability) cases. The report bears the date "2012" even though the data is from 2011. The report is helpful to lawyers who represent patients…
It comes as no surprise to those of us who are medical malpractice attorneys in Tennessee or elsewhere around the Nation, but this article, "Surgeons Make Thousands of Errors," (subscription required) does a great job of identifying problems that arise in the operating room. The article reports that surgeons make…
The Nebraska Supreme Court has held that the doctor for a kidney donee does not owe a duty to the kidney donor. Thus, when the donee’s doctor allegedly committed malpractice when treating the donee, rendering the donor’s kidney useless, the donor cannot sue the donor’s doctor. In Olson v. Wren…
It happens almost every day. I receive a call from a person claiming that they have been injured by the act or omission of some health care professional and I have to tell them I can’t help them because the damages suffered to not justify the time and expense of…
Almost four years ago Tennessee adopted a requirement lawyers filing medical malpractice (now called health care liability) lawsuits must file a "certificate of good faith." Under the current version of the statute the certificate must be filed with the complaint. The Tennessee pre-suit notice statute can be found at T.C.A.…
Almost four years ago Tennessee adopted a requirement that health care provides were entitled to receive advance notice of the filing of Tennessee medical malpractice (now call "health care liability) lawsuits. Under the current version of the statute, notice must be given in the manner proscribed by statute before the…
How often are sponges, towels, pads and other foreign objects left in surgical patients? The Doctor’s Company, a medical malpractice insurer, has shared some information that helps us get an idea of the scope of the problem. The insurer reports that from 2002 through 2011, there were 3,273 surgical claims…
The National Practioner Data Bank, the entity that gathers data about medical malpractice claims, reports that paid medical malpractice claims continue to drop. In 2001, the total number of paid claims was 20,319. In 2010, the number had dropped to 13,277. Now, a new report released by Kaiser citing data…
Tennessee has a goofy rule concerning expert witnesses that, to my knowledge and belief, exists in no other state. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-115(b) requires any expert witness in a medical malpractice state to practice in Tennessee or a border state unless the trial court “determines that the appropriate witnesses otherwise would not…