New Health Care Liability Action Opinion: Saving Statute Held to Be Extended by 120 Days Due to Presuit Notice Letters Being Sent Out under Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 29-26-121

The Tennessee Court of Appeals issued its opinion today in Tinnel v. East Tennessee Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialists, P.C., No. E2014-00906-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 25, 2015).  The summary from the opinion states as follows:

This is a medical malpractice action. Plaintiff filed a complaint after 2 sending pre-suit notices to Defendants. After voluntarily dismissing the complaint, Plaintiff filed a second set of pre-suit notices before re-filing the complaint. The pre-suit notices were filed within one year of the voluntary dismissal. Defendants moved for summary judgment, alleging that the re-filed complaint was untimely because it was not filed within one year of the dismissal pursuant to the saving statute. Plaintiff responded that the re-filed complaint was timely because the pre-suit notices entitled her to a 120-day extension of the saving statute pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121(c). The trial court dismissed the action.  Plaintiff appeals. We reverse the decision of the trial court.  

Here's a link to the opinion:

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/sites/default/files/tinnelopn.pdf

Tennessee Supreme Court Denies Appeal in Harper v. Jackson-Madison Cnty. Gen. Hosp. Dist.

Last Thursday (Feb. 19, 2015) the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the defendant's application for permission to appeal under Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure in Harper v. Bradley Cnty.  This is a significant denial of an appeal because it allows the previous ruling to stand in that a plaintiff now gets the 120-day extension of the statute of limitations against a governmental entity (when proper presuit notices have been effected, of course) under the 2011 amendment in question.

Here is a link to the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Court's Web site where a copy of the order denying permission to appeal can be obtained, to wit:

 http://www2.tncourts.gov/PublicCaseHistory/CaseDetails.aspx?id=62136&Party=True

Further, please note that this post is a follow-up post to ones I made on this blog on January 31, 2015:

http://theduncanlawfirm.blogspot.com/2015/01/another-new-health-care-liability.html; and

November 3, 2014: 

http://theduncanlawfirm.blogspot.com/2014/11/new-health-care-liability-opinion-120.html.

Moreover, the Court of Appeals' opinion in this case may very well become a reported decision under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 4.  If it does, Harper will become controlling authority for all purposes under said rule.