Useful Web Links

http://www.daubertontheweb.com/ for "Daubert on the Web." This is a great site!
http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/ for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts
http://www.nashville.gov/circuit/ for the Metropolitan Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk's Office
http://www.nashville.gov/chancery/index.htm for the Metropolitan Davidson County Chancery Court Clerk and Master's Office
http://www.uscourts.gov/ for the U.S. Courts: Federal Judiciary website
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ for the United States Code
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/ for the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/ for the Federal Rules of Evidence
http://www.ediscoverylaw.com/ for a site on e-discovery
http://www.medilexicon.com/ for an online medical dictionary
http://www.globalrph.com/index.htm for web-based medical research
http://www.llrx.com/features/medical2005.htm for more web-based medical research
http://www.state.tn.us/sos/ for the Tennessee Secretary of State
http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ for the Pacer Service Center
http://www.wheelessonline.com/ for Wheeless’ Textbook for Orthopaedics
http://www.ama-assn.org/ for the American Medical Association
http://jama.ama-assn.org/ for the Journal of the American Medical Association
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/ for the Vanderbilt University Medical Center
http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/medschool/ for the Vanderbilt Medical Center School of Medicine
http://www.hcahealthcare.com/ for the Hospital Corporation of America
http://www.mmc.edu/ for the Meharry Medical College
http://www.state.tn.us/health/ for the State of Tennessee Department of Health
http://www.healthguideusa.org/index.htm for a great link for looking up information on healthcare providers.

Great Legal Citation Book

Here's a great book that will help you correctly cite the authority you are relying upon, to wit: Prince's Dictionary of Legal Citations, by Mary Miles Prince.

It can be purchased at: http://www.wshein.com

New Peer-Review Case From Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued a good opinion clarifying the discoverability of certain information, even if it is provided to a peer review committee, in Stratienko v. Chattanooga-Hamilton Co. Hosp. et al., No. E2005-01043-SC-S09-CV (Tenn. May 14, 2007).

This matter arose out of a dispute between two doctors, however, the discoverability of this information wouldn't (shouldn't) be any different in a medical malpractice case.

Here's the link:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TSC/PDF/072/StratienkoOPN.pdf

Jury Instructions: Forseeability in Medical Malpractice Cases

The Court of Appeals recently issued a very good opinion dealing with jury instructions in medical malpractice cases (primarily dealing with the element of foreseeability). That opinion is from Adams v. Hendersonville Hosp. Corp et al., M2006-01068-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 18, 2007).

Appellant requested three jury instructions at trial. The trial court declined to give them as requested (one, regarding foreseeability, was a verbatim statement of the law from the Tennessee Supreme Court). The Court of Appeals held that the trial court's refusal to give the jury instruction that was a verbatim statment of the law on foreseeability was reversible error.

Here's the link to the case:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/CURRENT/adamsaOPN.pdf

Medical Illustrations

Merck has a great Web site for medical illustrations.

Here's the link:

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/resources/cp1/index.html

New Case Involving Comparative Fault and Sec. 20-1-119

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued its opinion in Austin v. State of Tennessee, No. M2005-01300-SC-R11-CV (Tenn. May 1, 2007).

Here's the link:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TSC/PDF/072/AustinOPN.pdf

This case should be read with Brown v. Wal-Mart Discount Cities, 12 S.W.3d 785 (Tenn. 2000).

Both cases involve the allocation of fault and the interplay between that allocation of fault and Tennessee Code Annotated section 20-1-119.

I'm thinking of doing an article on this topic. I'll let you know if I do.

Another Book

This has nothing to do with the law, per se, but it's a good book. It's called Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. It's about how we think in "thin slices." It will alter how you view the world, trust me.

His Web site is at: http://www.gladwell.com/index.html

He has also written The Tipping Point. I haven't read it yet either -- but I hear it's good too.

A New Book on CD

David Ball's Damages: The Essential Update is now available on CD from Trial Guides.

http://www.trialguides.com

Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure Amended

The Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure have been amended (effective July 1, 2007). Here's the link:


http://www.tsc.state.tn.us

Tennessee Civil Jury Instructions: Updates

The updates to the Tennessee civil jury instructions are here:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/

Medical Illustrations Web Link

Someone brought this to link to my attention today. I thought it was pretty cool, so, I am posting it for you to look at:

http://catalog.nucleusinc.com/nucleusindex.php

Enjoy.

The Cost of Medical Records in Tennessee

What are medical records supposed to cost in a non-workers' compensation case in Tennessee? The answer is in Tennessee Code Annotated sections 63-2-102 (pertaining to non-hospital records) and 68-11-304 (pertaining to hospital records).

The charges are required by law to be twenty dollars for the first forty pages and twenty-five cents per page thereafter for physicians offices (i.e., non-hospital facilities). Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 63-2-102.

Hospitals charge fifteen dollars for the first five pages; seventy-five cents per page for the sixth to the fiftieth page; fifty cents per page for the fifty-first to the two hundred and fiftieth page; and twenty-five cents per page for all pages thereafter. Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 68-11-304.

Here's the link to the free (unannotated) Tennessee Code:

http://www.michie.com/resources1.html

Virtual Knee Surgery

Here is a link to view a virtual knee surgery:

http://www.edheads.org/activities/knee/

I thought you all would like to see this.

Holiday Break

Folks,

I'm taking a break for the holidays and won't post anything substantive until after the first of the year.

Enjoy your holidays.

Thanks.

Virtual Hip Replacement

Here's an interesting link to watch a virtual hip replacement.

http://www.edheads.org/activities/hip/index.htm

A Famous Quote and Case Law Too

Joseph Story said that the law "is a jealous mistress." Those of you who are lawyers -- or are married to a lawyer -- know this to be true. I have lost many a night's sleep reading, studying, and learning the law (she just won't let you go sometimes).

If you are the same way (or your spouse is), you should read this case: Overstreet v. Shoney's Inc., 4 S.W.3d 694 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999). This opinion is an excellent overview of the elements of a personal-injury claim in Tennessee. Judge Koch authored the opinion and -- as always -- did an excellent job.

Enjoy the read.

Rule 12 Motions to Dismiss Are Not Responsive Pleadings

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. Rule 12 motions to dismiss are not responsive pleadings for purposes of Rule 15 amendments to complaints (of course, we are talking about the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure here).

Why is this important? It's important because a lot of lawyers (myself included, until recently) think that you can't file an amended complaint without the other side's permission or leave of the court if a motion to dismiss is pending (Rule 15 allows an amended complaint to be filed any time before a repsonsive pleading is filed). This is simply not the case. Adams v. Carter Cnty. Mem'l Hosp., 548 S.W.2d 307, 309 (Tenn. 1977) (noting that a motion is not a responsive pleading); Vincent v. CNA Ins. Co., No. M2001-02213-COA-R9-CV, 2002 WL 31863290, at *5 n.4 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002) (same).

NBA's Appellate Practice Manual: Update

I have posted before about the Nashville Bar Association's ("NBA") manual on appellate practice in Tennessee. It has recently been updated. To get to it, you can go to the NBA's Web site. The site is located at http://www.nashbar.org/, then click on the "Members" tab on the left-hand side. The manual (updated in June) is there to view or download.

Good luck!

Politics, Government, and America

This really has nothing to do with the law (at least not directly), but, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican (or a member of any other political party), you have to remember that we are all Americans. Americans who want the same things, e.g., to be safe from terrorism, good schools for our kids, to make a good living, and so on. These are true no matter what political party you belong to.

Somehow we have lost sight of the fact that we are ONE nation (made up of Democrats, Republicans, and all other political parties). This is what has made this American "experiment" in government work so well (i.e., everyone has a voice -- if they choose to exercise it). Sure, some may say that it's a terrible system, but, look around, it's still the best thing going. I always say: "Nothing worth having comes easy." This is true for almost everything. For our system of government to continue to work, we need more citizen involvement, and we need people to step up and not just assume that "someone else will do it." I'm going to "step up" and do more. Are you? You should if you're able to do so.

Cases That Cannot Be Recommenced After Being Voluntarily Dismissed

There are at least two types of cases that cannot be recommenced after they have been voluntarily nonsuited/dismissed. The first is a Governmental Tort Liability Act ("GTLA") case. Lynn v. City of Jackson, 63 S.W.3d 332, 337 (Tenn. 2001) (stating that the savings statute will not extend time in which an action must be filed under Tennessee's GTLA). The second type of case is a will contest action. In re Estate of Barnhill, 62 S.W.3d 139 (Tenn. 2001) (holding that a will contest action cannot be refiled after it has been voluntarily nonsuited/dismissed).