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Articles Posted in Medical Negligence

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Claims Commission decision to credit defense witnesses affirmed.

Where the claims commission credited defendants’ witnesses and found that plaintiffs had not proven their HCLA case, the Court of Appeals affirmed. In Cavaliere v. State, No. M2021-00038-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 320241 (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2022), plaintiffs filed an HCLA suit against the state based on treatment received by…

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Intentional misrepresentation and medical battery claims fell within HCLA

  Where plaintiff alleged that defendant doctor made intentional misrepresentations when obtaining her consent for a surgery and therefore committed medical battery, the claims fell under the HCLA. In Cooper v. Mandy, No. M2019-01748-SC-R11-CV, 2022 WL 175804 (Tenn. Jan. 20, 2022), plaintiff met with defendant doctor to discuss a breast…

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Summary judgment vacated where trial court order failed to give reasons for decision

  Where the trial court did not provide sufficient reasoning in support of its dismissal of plaintiffs’ various HCLA and informed consent claims, summary judgment for defendants was vacated. In Boyd v. Gibson, No. W2020-01305-COA-R3-CV, 2022 WL 95167 (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 10, 2022), plaintiff had been treated by defendant…

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Operations on the Wrong Body Part – from The Washington Post.

This is an article David L. Perlow,  a board certified urologist practicing in the  Atlanta area since 1983.  The article appeared in the November 27, 2021 edition of The Washington Post.   The full text of the article appears below. In 2012, Paul Kibbett checked into a California hospital to have…

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Plaintiff not entitled to conduct discovery on issue of whether defendant was prejudiced by incomplete HIPAA authorization in HCLA case

Where plaintiff sent a HIPAA authorization with her HCLA pre-suit notice that failed to include one of the six core elements required on a HIPAA-compliant authorization, dismissal was affirmed, and plaintiff was not entitled to conduct discovery to attempt to show that defendant was not prejudiced by the incomplete HIPAA…

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Defendant doctor can be compelled to testify regarding standard of care of co-defendant nurse he supervises; Minor on Tenncare Has Right to Sue for Medical Expenses

Where defendant doctor was the supervising physician for defendant nurse midwife, the Court of Appeals ruled that he could be compelled to testify regarding his “expert opinion about the care and treatment provided by” the nurse.  And, perhaps more importantly, the court also ruled that a minor on TennCare has…

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Bifurcation of standard of care and causation issues in HCLA case affirmed.

  Where a trial judge bifurcated an HCLA trial, addressing only the standard of care and whether defendants deviated from said standard in the first phase, and analyzing causation in the second phase if needed, the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision to bifurcate. In Jernigan v. Paasche, No. M2020-00673-COA-R3-CV…

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Second Pre-Suit Notice Required After Voluntary Dismissal of First HCLA Complaint

Where plaintiff nonsuits a complaint that contains medical malpractice (now known as  health care liability action or “HCLA”)  claims then later re-files a different complaint containing HCLA claims against the same defendant, she must give a new, separate pre-suit notice for the re-filed complaint. In Byington v. Reaves, No. E2020-01211-COA-R3-CV…

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Vicarious liability claim under HCLA not barred due to statute of limitations running out on claim against non-party agent.

Where an HCLA plaintiff decides to pursue claims only against the principal under a vicarious liability theory and the plaintiff follows the statutory timing outlined in the HCLA, the claim will not be barred due to the previous common law holding that a vicarious liability claim against a principal is…

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Failure to list purpose on HIPAA authorization leads to dismissal of HCLA case.

Where plaintiff’s medical authorizations lacked required elements and plaintiff failed to show that defendants already had all relevant records, dismissal of plaintiff’s HCLA case was affirmed. In Woods v. Arthur, No. W2019-01936-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 23, 2021), plaintiff filed an HCLA claim related to two spinal surgeries, the first…

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