New Health Care Liability Action Opinion: Summary Judgment for the Defense Affirmed Due to the Plaintiff's Expert Being Disqualified under the Locality Rule

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has released its opinion in Bowen v. Nelson, No. W2024-00749-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 27, 2025). The syllabus reads:

Plaintiff appeals the trial court’s decision to exclude the testimony of her proffered expert for failure to comply with the locality rule. Plaintiff also appeals the grant of summary of judgment based on the exclusion of that expert. Finding the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the testimony, we affirm that ruling. Additionally, we affirm the trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment as the excluded testimony was the only evidence offered regarding the applicable standard of care.  

Here is a link to the slip opinion: BowenGladysClaireOPN.pdf.

NOTE: This opinion offers a good discussion of the locality rule that applies to expert witnesses in a health care liability action as codified in Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 29-26-115(a)(1). 

New Health Care Liability Action Opinion: Trial Court's Denial of a Protective Order Regarding What Was Said at a CANDOR Meeting Upheld on Appeal

The Tennessee Supreme Court has released its opinion in Catillo v. Rex, No. E2022-00322-COA-R9-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 5, 2023). The syllabus reads:

The plaintiff filed this healthcare liability action against several healthcare providers following the death of her husband. We granted this interlocutory appeal in which the defendants request review of the trial court’s denial of their motion for a protective order to prohibit further inquiry into a meeting held between the defendant hospital and the decedent’s family. We affirm the trial court.

Here is a link to the slip opinion: Castillo v. Rex, M.D. Opinion UNSIGNED.pdf (tncourts.gov).

NOTE: This opinion does a great job of explaining why the quality improvement committee privilege does not apply in this situation. This is a must-read opinion for any lawyer who handles medical malpractice case (f/k/a medical malpractice cases) governed by Tennessee law.  

New Health Care Liability Action Opinion: Trial Court's Dismissal Reversed on Appeal; Plaintiff Allowed to Conduct Limited Discovery to Determine Whether Defendants Were Prejudiced by a Medical Records Authorization That Did Not Comply with HIPAA

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has released its opinion in Hayward v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hosp. Auth., No. E2022-00488-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 27, 2023). The syllabus reads:

This health care liability action was brought against a hospital and a physician. The plaintiff sent pre-suit notice to three1 potential defendants prior to initiating the action. The trial court found, however, that the plaintiff failed to include as part of the pre-suit notice a HIPAA-compliant medical authorization because one of the six core elements was incorrect on the authorization. Following a motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6), the trial court granted the motion and dismissed the action against the defendant hospital due to noncompliance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121. The plaintiff argues, among other things, that he should have been allowed to conduct limited discovery in order to determine whether the defendant hospital had been prejudiced by his failure to provide a HIPAA-compliant medical authorization. We vacate the trial court’s grant of the motion to dismiss and hold that the plaintiff should have been permitted to conduct limited discovery regarding whether prejudice existed for the trial court to consider in its determination of whether the plaintiff substantially complied with the pre-suit notice requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121.

Here is a link to the slip opinion: E2022-00488.pdf (tncourts.gov)

NOTE: Look for the defense to ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to review this case (via Tenn. R. App. P. 11), which is virtually guaranteed. Itis noteworthy to point out that this case cites HIPAA's health care operations exception in support of its holding (which allows the disclosure of a patient's protected health information without a signed disclosure. As a result, this is a must-read opinion for any lawyer who handles health care liability actions under Tennessee substantive law. 

Trial Court's Dismissal of Health Care Liability Action Upheld on Appeal Because Substitution of Deceased Plaintiff Was Not Timely Effected and Time to Substitute Could Not Be Enlarged Because No Excusable Neglect Was Shown to Exist

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has released its decision in Joshlin v. Halford, No. W2020-01643-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jan. 6, 2023). The syllabus from the slip opinion reads:

This appeal involves a failure to timely move for substitution of parties after the death of one of the two plaintiffs. In a previous appeal, this Court directed the trial court, on remand, to determine whether the plaintiff’s response to a motion to dismiss should be construed as a motion for enlargement of time pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 6.02, and if so, to determine whether the plaintiff’s failure to timely move for substitution of the parties pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 25.01 was the result of excusable neglect. On remand, the trial court determined that the plaintiff’s filing should be construed as a motion for an enlargement of time. However, the trial court also found that the plaintiff failed to timely move for substitution due to counsel’s misinterpretation of the law, which, the trial court concluded, did not constitute excusable neglect. As such, the trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to timely substitute parties. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm and remand for further proceedings.

Here is a link to the opinion: TN Courts (scroll down; slip opinion may not be accessible via a smart phone or tablet due to a quirk in the system right now). 

NOTE: This appellate decision is another iteration of the case discussed in my blog post from Nov. 7, 2019, which can be found here:

 http://theduncanlawfirm.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-case-on-proper-way-to-maintain-suit.html.