Day on Torts

April 18, 2023

Stats on Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Filings and Trials in Knoxville and Knox County, Tennessee

Information is now available on the number of tort trials and jury verdicts in Knox County, Tennessee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

There were 2164 tort cases closed in Knox County (not including health care liability act cases) and 40 tort trials. Here is how that compares with prior years:

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The number of trials – 40 – tells only part of the story, however. Some 29 of those trials were jury trials – the other 11 were tried to the court. The plaintiff made a financial recovery in 9 of those cases that were tried to a judge or jury. Note: the fact that the plaintiff recovered in about 25% of the cases does not mean the plaintiff “won” about 25% of the cases. Why? Because we do not know whether the plaintiff’s recovery exceeded the pretrial offer. We can say that in Knox County last year defendants received a defense judgment in about 75% of the cases that were tried. Here is the data in a graph:

April 17, 2023

Health Care Liability Filing and Disposition Statistics from Tennessee Courts – 2021-22

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The State of Tennessee has released information about the number of health care liability (HCL, formerly known as medical malpractice) claims filed in Tennessee in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022 and the resolution of pending HCL cases in the same year.

In the FY2021-22, 355 HCL claims were filed in Tennessee and 349 cases were resolved. The total number of cases resolved is consistent with experience in the prior eight years, which say a high of 382 cases resolved in FY 2018-20 and a low of 330 cases resolved in FY 2020-21.

Eleven (11) HCL cases went to trial in FY2021-22, down from 31 in FY 2015-16 and a low of 8 in FY 2020-21. (Number of trials available for last eight years only). There is no publicly available data on how the other 344 cases were resolved, but of course the possibilities are voluntary dismissal, summary judgment, or settlement.

April 14, 2023

Property owner defendants could not rely on statute of repose for defective improvements to real property.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The statute of repose for defective improvements to real property did not apply where defendants were the property owners of the pipe culvert at issue in the case.

In Clayton v. Dixon, No. M2021-00521-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 23, 2023), plaintiff property owner sued defendants, who owned the adjacent property, “for damages allegedly caused by the installation of a pipe culvert.” Plaintiff asserted that the pipe culvert was improperly installed in 2011 and caused flooding on his property.

Plaintiff filed suit in 2019 for negligence, nuisance, and trespass. The parties entered into a settlement agreement whereby defendants installed a larger pipe, but plaintiff refused to dismiss the suit after this pipe installation. Defendants then filed a motion to dismiss as well as a counterclaim seeking specific enforcement of the settlement agreement. The parties then filed cross-motions for summary judgment, with plaintiff arguing that he was entitled to summary judgment because defendants had “violated the codes when they installed the pipe culvert,” and defendants asserting that plaintiff’s claim was barred by the statute of repose. The trial court found that “the statute of repose for defective improvements to real estate barred [plaintiff’s] action” and granted summary judgment to defendants. On appeal, summary judgment was reversed.

April 13, 2023

Stats About Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases and Verdicts in Washington County, Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Information is now available on the number of tort trials and jury verdicts in Washington County, Tennessee (county seat: Jonesborough) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

There were 162 personal injury or wrongful death cases closed in Washington County (not including health care liability act cases) and only 1 trial in those cases. Here is how that compares with prior years:

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Over the years, about 2% of the personal injury and wrongful death cases closed in Washington County went to trial. When your client asks you “what are the odds my Washington County case will go to trial” you can say that, on average 98% of filed cases are resolved (through voluntary dismissal, dismissal on motion, or settlement) before a jury verdict or judgment is announced.

April 12, 2023

HCLA dismissal affirmed based on plaintiffs’ failure to name governmental employer as defendant.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

In an HCLA case where plaintiff named a physician employed by a governmental entity as a defendant but did not name the governmental entity, dismissal was affirmed. Further, plaintiff’s motion to amend to name the governmental entity was properly denied as futile where plaintiff did not give pre-suit notice to the governmental entity and, therefore, the claim against the governmental entity would be time-barred even if it related back to the filing of the complaint.

In Fisher v. Smith, No. W2022-00779-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 23, 2023), plaintiff’s HCLA claim arose from an abdominal surgery she had at a hospital in March 2020. Dr. Smith was the surgeon and was an employee of West Tennessee Medical Group (WTMG), which was a governmental entity. Until a year before the surgery at issue, Dr. Smith had been an employee of Jackson Surgical Associates, P.A. (JSA), but in March 2019 WTMG acquired JSA, thereafter operating the practice as Jackson Surgical Associates with no P.A. as part of the name.

In February 2021, plaintiffs sent pre-suit notice to Dr. Smith, JSA, the surgical center and the hospital, and amended pre-suit notices were sent to the same entities on March 1, 2021. No pre-suit notice was sent to WTMG. Dr. Smith, JSA, and the hospital responded to their notices “by informing the [plaintiffs] that Dr. Smith was employed by WTMG and not JSA and that WTMG was a governmental entity.” When plaintiffs filed their suit in June 2021, however, they named Dr. Smith and JSA as defendants.

April 11, 2023

Stats on Tort Trials and Verdicts in Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Information is now available on the number of tort trials and jury verdicts in Hamilton County, Tennessee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

There were 797 tort cases closed in Hamilton County (not including health care liability act cases) and 27 tort trials. Here is how that compares with prior years:

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Note that about 3 – 3.5 % of all closed cases in Hamilton County are tried to judgment, a number which is generally consistent with past years. When your client asks you “what are the odds my case will go to trial” you can say that, on average 96-97% of filed cases are resolved (through voluntary dismissal, dismissal on motion, or settlement) before a jury verdict or judgment is announced.

April 6, 2023

Stats About Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases and Verdicts in Madison County, Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Information is now available on the number of personal injury and wrongful death trials and jury verdicts in Madison County, Tennessee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

There were 187 personal injury and wrongful death cases closed in Madison County (not including health care liability act cases) and 5 tort trials. Here is how that compares with prior years:

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Note that about 3% of all closed cases in Madison County are tried to judgment, a number which is generally consistent with past years. When your client asks you “what are the odds my Madison County case will go to trial” you can say that, on average 97% of filed cases are resolved (through voluntary dismissal, dismissal on motion, or settlement) before a jury verdict or judgment is announced.

April 5, 2023

No certificate of good faith required for HCLA case that falls under common knowledge exception.

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Where plaintiff alleged that the nursing facility she lived in gave her a defective shower chair, and the broken wheel lock and torn netting on the chair caused her to fall and be injured, no certificate of good faith was required due to the common knowledge exception to Tennessee’s health care liability (historically referred to as “medical malpractice”) law.

In Mears v. Nashville Center for Rehabilitation and Healing, LLC, No. M2022-00490-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Mar. 29, 2023), plaintiff was a resident at defendant skilled nursing facility. Defendant’s policy required residents to use a shower chair when showering, and plaintiff was provided such a shower chair. According to plaintiff, the shower chair she was given was defective because the wheel lock did not work and the netting was torn. While showering, plaintiff fell out of the chair and was injured.

Plaintiff filed this suit against defendant asserting various acts of negligence. Plaintiff did not, however, provide pre-suit notice or a certificate of good faith under the HCLA, and defendant filed a motion to dismiss on that basis. The trial court agreed that the case fell within the HCLA and dismissed the suit without prejudice due to plaintiff’s failure to provide pre-suit notice. The court ruled, however, that the claims did “not require expert medical testimony and came within the common knowledge of laymen and, therefore, that a certificate of good faith [was] not required.” The trial court thus refused defendant’s request to dismiss the case with prejudice, which was affirmed on appeal.

April 4, 2023

Stats on Tort Trials and Verdicts in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Information is now available on the number of tort trials and jury verdicts in Shelby County, Tennessee for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.

There were 2164 tort cases closed in Shelby County (not including health care liability act cases) and 55 tort trials. Here is how that compares with prior years:

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Note that about 3% of all closed cases in Shelby County are tried to judgment, a number which is generally consistent with past years. When your client asks you “what are the odds my case will go to trial” you can say that, on average 96-97% of filed cases are resolved (through voluntary dismissal, dismissal on motion, or settlement) before a jury verdict or judgment is announced.

April 3, 2023

ACTL Podcast

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

One thing you can do to become a great trial lawyer is to listen to great trial lawyers speak about the profession.

The American College of Trial Lawyers has a podcast that does just that. The podcast will be starting its sixth season this summer, but there are over 20 podcasts of great trial lawyers already available.

The most recent podcast interviewed Tennessee’s own J. Houston Gordon.