Tennessee Law

Published on: February 12, 2018

Tennessee Court of Appeals Reversed Trial Court’s Dismissal of Premises Liability Claim Against Defendants Who Had Previously Been Non-Suited

When someone falls in a store or in another place of business, there may be multiple parties who could potentially be named as defendants – corporations, subsidiaries, parent companies, holding companies, land management companies… the list goes on and on.

When an east Tennessee premises liability lawsuit is filed against multiple defendants, some of those parties may be dismissed, either voluntarily as part of the plaintiff’s litigation strategy or by the trial court on motion of the defendant(s). In cases of a voluntary dismissal, the plaintiff may have the option of refiling the claim within a certain time period.

Additionally, when a defendant asserts fault by a non-party as part of a comparative fault defense, the plaintiff may be able to amend his or her complaint to add those individuals or businesses as party defendants.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 31, 2018

Tennessee Health Care Liability Act Requirements Held Not to Apply to Alleged Assault by Security Officer in Treatment Facility

By Mark Hartsoe

Under Tennessee law, a would-be Knoxville medical malpractice claimant must provide pre-suit notice and file a certificate of good faith along with his or her complaint. These requirements apply to any claims alleging health care liability.

However, it is not always clear whether a given claim is a “health care liability” claim.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: January 12, 2018

Tennessee Court of Appeals Says County’s Third-Party Claim Against Medical Services Company Following Attack on Inmate Was Not a “Health Care Liability Claim”

By Mark Hartsoe

When someone is killed or suffers catastrophic injuries as a result of the negligence of a government official – including prison guards, police officers, and sheriffs’ deputies – that injured person (or the deceased person’s family) may be able to seek monetary compensation.

An experienced Tennessee personal injury attorney can help you determine whether liability may lie in a particular situation and, if so, help you get started on the process of holding the responsible party accountable for the consequences of their actions or inaction.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: December 27, 2017

School Bus Driver’s Slip and Fall Lawsuit Against City/County Government Survives Summary Judgment, Per Tennessee Court of Appeals

By Mark Hartsoe

Serious injuries can result from a fall on another party’s property – broken bones, sprains, strains, disc herniations, and other, sometimes permanently disabling medical problems can all occur when premises are not maintained in a reasonably safe condition.

In an east Tennessee premises liability lawsuit, a person injured on another party’s property may seek compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering caused by the fall.

However, the burden of proof in a slip and fall case is always on the plaintiff – the injured person – to prove his or her case by a preponderance of the evidence. Often, such cases fail for lack of proof, not because the defendant was not negligent but because the plaintiff was unable to provide competent evidence of the defendant’s breach of the duty of due care.

Continue reading →

Published on: December 15, 2017

Tennessee Supreme Court Considers Whether Estranged Husband is Proper Party to Bring Wrongful Death Claim

By Mark Hartsoe

When someone passes away due to another party’s negligence, it may be possible for those left behind to file a Tennessee wrongful death lawsuit. However, not just anyone can file such a claim.

Only those allowed by the statutory scheme of the state in which the decedent was killed have the right to seek compensation through a wrongful death claim. Sometimes, disputes can arise as to who exactly is the proper person to bring the claim. It is up to the courts to ultimately make that decision.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: November 22, 2017

Tennessee Supreme Court Holds that Full, Non-Discounted Medical Expenses May Be Admitted at Car Accident Trial, But Discounted Amount Due to Insurance May Not

By Mark Hartsoe

People who have been injured in a Knoxville car accident caused by the negligence or reckless conduct of another person, business, or governmental entity may be able to recover damages such as medical expenses, lost earnings, and compensation for pain and suffering. However, calculating the exact amount to which the injured person (or a deceased person’s family) is entitled is a complex endeavor.

A recent case highlights one of the issues that frequently arises in such cases: how are the reasonable and necessary medical expenses suffered by an injured person to be determined?

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: November 8, 2017

Tennessee Court of Appeals Affirms Judgment Holding Shelby County Negligent in Jailhouse Suicide Case

By Mark Hartsoe

When a governmental employee acts negligently – that is, when he or she breaches a duty of care owed to another person, and harm is caused to the victim as a proximate result – the governmental entity for which the employee worked can be held liable for the resulting injuries or wrongful death in many instances.

This can be true even when the direct harm to the victim is caused by someone other than the employee – such as when a mentally distraught individual who should have been more carefully monitored while in the custody of a government official takes his or her own life.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: October 30, 2017

Appellate Court Remands Tennessee Truck Accident Case to Trial Court for Allocation of Fault Between the Parties

By Mark Hartsoe

Tennessee is a “modified comparative fault” state. This means that, in deciding the effect that a plaintiff’s own negligence has on the outcome of a personal injury lawsuit, the plaintiff can only recover damages if he or she is found to be less than 50% at fault.

If the jury attributes 50% or more of the fault to the plaintiff, he or she cannot recover any compensation from the defendant. If the plaintiff is 49% or less at fault, he or she recovers the percentage of his or her damages assigned to the defendant. For instance, if the jury finds that the plaintiff suffered $100,000 in damages but was 25% at fault, the trial court will enter a net judgment of $75,000 in the plaintiff’s favor.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: October 4, 2017

Federal District Court Denies Summary Judgment to Tennessee Sporting Goods Store After Customer Falls in Parking Lot

By Mark Hartsoe

Not every lawsuit is concluded by a jury’s verdict in favor of one party or another. While many cases are settled through an agreement between the parties, some are resolved via a legal proceeding known as a “motion for summary judgment.”

When a defendant files such a motion in a negligence case, including an East Tennessee slip and fall case, the argument is that, even if all of the factual disputes are resolved in the plaintiff’s favor, the defendant cannot be held liable. There is judicial economy in motions for summary judgment in that a case is resolved without the need for a jury to determine factual disagreements; however, a motion can only be granted if the opposing party could not win his or her case even if the jury found all of the factual disputes in his or her favor.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →

Published on: September 27, 2017

Tennessee Court of Appeals Reverses Judgment for Defendant in Medical Malpractice Case, Saying “Sudden Emergency” Instruction Should Not Have Been Given

By Mark Hartsoe

Medical mistakes can cause injuries or death both to the old and to the young, but some of the most heartbreaking east Tennessee medical malpractice cases involve situations in which a doctor’s mistake causes a child to either die in utero or shortly after birth.

Obstetricians fight hard against a finding of liability in such cases, urging the jury to believe that they did everything they could under the circumstances. While this may be true in some situations, it is not always so. Ultimately, it is up to the jury to decide whether a mistake was made and, if so, the compensation to which a family is entitled as a result.

Facts of the Case

Continue reading →