Medical Malpractice: Verdict for Plaintiffs Reversed Due to Lack of Proof of Proximate Cause

The Middle Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals recently released its opinion in Wilson v. Americare Sys., Inc., No. M2011-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 5, 2012). Here's the summary from the opinion:

Decedent’s next of kin filed this wrongful death action against an assisted living facility, two nurses, and the facility’s management company for failure to provide proper care and treatment. This appeal concerns only the jury verdict and judgment finding the management company directly liable for failure to provide adequate staff at the assisted living facility. We find no material evidence to support a conclusion that any staffing deficiency proximately caused the decedent’s death. We therefore reverse the judgment finding direct liability on the part of the management company.

Here's a link to the opinion:

http://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/wilsonropn.pdf

The lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, C.J. Gideon Jr., rarely does plainitffs' work; he mostly defends cases. Here's the link to his firm's Web site:

http://www.gideoncooper.com/.

He is also an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School, which makes you wonder why he didn't prove such an elementary thing as causation as the Court of Appeals found in this case.