Articles Posted in Medical Malpractice (Health Care Liability)

Physician assistants (PAs) are increasing in number in Tennessee.  Physician assistants are licensed by the state and are supposed to assist a physician in the practice of medicine.

The State of Tennessee has issued rules concerning the work done by physician assistants.  A physician assistant must have formal training in an approved program and must pass an examination to be licensed by Tennessee.

Physician assistants have the right to prescribe certain drugs under the supervision of a physician.  In fact, all of the activities of the physician’s assistant must be under the supervision of a physician.  The regulations concerning the supervision of a physician assistant by a physician are set forth in the link (look at section 18).

There is a one-year deadline (called a "statute of limitation") for bringing a Tennessee medical malpractice case.  

Changes to the law several years ago means that a person must give formal notice to each defendant in a medical malpractice case before a lawsuit can be filed in the court system.  That notice must be sent no more than one year from the date of the negligent act or negligent omission causing an injury.

The statute that mandates pre-suit notice has some very specific requirements about what the notice must say and how it must be sent to the potential defendant or defendants.  Tennessee appellate courts have not yet had the occasion to do an in-depth examination of how strictly these requirements must be met to satisfy the requirement of pre-suit notice, and thus it should be assumed that each of the statutory requirements must be followed to the letter until we have more guidance from Tennessee appellate courts.  It would be a mistake for any consumer to attempt to give notice of a potential  medical malpractice case without the assistance of an experienced Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer.

There are a unique set of rules applicable to Tennessee medical malpractice cases.  (Note: the Tennessee Legislature has decreed that such cases must now be called "health care liability actions.)

In a health care liability action in Tennessee, both the liability of the health care provider and the link between the negligent action or omission ("causation") must be proved by one or more expert witnesses in the vast, vast majority of cases.   The liability expert must 1) practice in a field of medicine that makes his or her testimony pertinent to the case; 2) practice in that field of medicine in Tennessee or a contiguous state in the year preceding the incident; and 3) be familiar with the regularly accepted level of medical practice in the community where the incident took place or a similar community. 

The causation expert must also meet the geographic requirements mentioned above.  However, this expert does not need to know the standard of care in the community where the incident occurred if his or his expert opinion is limited to causation issues.

A Tennessee medical malpractice claim, now called a "health care liability action," should only be filed by a lawyer experienced in health care liability litigation.  I would never recommend that a non-lawyer file such a case.

There are many, many reasons for this, not the least of which are that way that one files a lawsuit against a health care provider.  Health care providers have persuaded the Tennessee General Assembly to erect artificial barriers to lawsuits against them.  A couple of those barriers have to do with how the lawsuit is initiated.  First, almost always pre-lawsuit notice must be given to the health car provider in a very specific way.  Second, when the lawsuit is filed a "certificate of good faith" must be filed.  Once again, Tennessee law has very specific requirements for a certificate of good faith.

The failure to strictly comply with Tennessee law on  these matters will result in dismissal of the case.  Dismissal of the case will  result in the imposition of financial sanctions against  person who did not comply with the law by initiating the case.

Local news outlets are reporting that some eleven patients who had lumbar epidural steroid injections at Nashville’s Saint Hospital have contracted meningitis.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, which is the membrane surrounding your brain and spinal cord.  Usually meningitis is caused by a viral infection, but it can also be caused by bacterial or fungal infections.  Meningitis can be deadly, and news reports indicate that two people have died from meningitis contracted at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center.

The Center was voluntarily closed on September 20, 2012. A total of 737 patients who had lumbar epidural steroid injections between July 30, 2012 and September 20, 2012 have been notified .