When a motion for summary judgment in an HCLA case was based solely on the failure to file a certificate of good faith with the complaint, the trial court rightly considered it a motion to dismiss and allowed plaintiff to take a voluntary dismissal. In Renner v. Takoma Regional Hospital,…
Where an expert in a professional negligence case against an insurance agent admitted that he had very limited experience with a certain type of policy, he was not qualified to testify as to the standard of care regarding that policy type. In Littleton v. TIS Insurance Services, Inc., No. E2018-00477-COA-R3-CV…
A motion for summary judgment cannot be based solely on “unverified reworded statements of some of the factual allegations of the complaint,” along with unsworn, unverified, and unsigned exhibits. In addition, when a defendant asserts their Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination in an answer or in response to discovery…
When a plaintiff filed suit against a massage therapist and his employer alleging various claims based on an intentional sexual assault, the requirements of the HCLA did not apply to the intentional tort claims against the massage therapist. For the negligent retention or supervision claim against the employer, however, a…
Where a child was injured at school but her parents had no evidence that the school had breached a duty of care or that an action by a school employee caused the injury, summary judgment was affirmed. In Webster v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, No. M2018-00106-COA-R3-CV…
Two previous posts discussed Tennessee tort and health care case filings and the damages awarded in Tennessee personal injury and medical malpractice cases for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. This post will explore trial and damages data from the largest counties in Tennessee. Shelby County saw 66 tort…
Yesterday we discussed the number of tort filings and dispositions in tort and health care liability cases in Tennessee and documented the number of trials in those cases. Today we look at damage awards. In the fiscal year ending June 20, 2018, damages were awarded to the plaintiff in 98…
Despite what one would expect given Tennessee’s increasing population, Tennessee saw no real increase in filings of tort and health care liability cases in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. There were a total of 11,081 tort cases filed in Tennessee in that year, essentially the same (an increase…
The Court of Appeals recently held that “expert testimony is required to establish a water distributor’s applicable duty of care and breach of the same[.]” In Tolliver v. Tellico Village Property Owners Assoc., Inc., No. E2018-00090-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 7, 2019), plaintiffs were property owners whose house was damaged…
Where a plaintiff in an Tennessee HCLA (medical malpractice) case “failed to obtain a competent expert witness to testify on the applicable standard of care,” summary judgment as to all of her claims was affirmed. In Akers v. Heritage Medical Associates, P.C., No. M2017-02470-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 4, 2019),…