Last night I attended a reception for the General Assembly that was sponsored by the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. Several state senators told me that they thought that the legislative special session could end in a couple days.
The House and Senate have passed different “ethics” bills, which means that a conference committee has to attempt to come up with a consensus bill that each body then must vote on. There are some huge differences to work out, although there is no doubt that a bill will be passed.
The end of the special session means the beginning of the ordinary session, which means that we will see a major fight by hospitals, doctors, and their insurers to avoid accountability for medical negligence. This session will be the biggest battle on the issue since the mid-80s.
I will keep you updated.