At the start of any lawsuit, a plaintiff must file an initial complaint, detailing the reasons why he or she is suing. In order to weed out frivolous or unsupported lawsuits that will only bog down the court system, plaintiffs must plead their claims with sufficient specificity and facts so…
Tennessee Code Section 29-26-121(f) permits defendants in health care liability actions to seek an order from the court allowing them to have ex parte communications with a plaintiff’s health care providers. Under the terms of the statute, if a defendant seeking such an order meets all of the necessary statutory…
Landowners and individuals who invite another person into their home owe their invitees a duty to protect them from unreasonably dangerous conditions. But what happens when an invitee is also aware of the dangerous condition and knowingly attempts to navigate it, but ultimately hurts him or herself? Is the landowner…
A duty of reasonable care can arise in many different types of circumstances. We often think of duties owed by professionals, business owners, or landlords, but the average individual also owes a duty of care when he or she takes on activities in which carefulness and safety are necessary. In…
It is a well-established principle of the law that damages are, in most instances, for the jury to decide. When a plaintiff and a defendant have a jury trial, and a jury finds the defendant liable, the jury will then address the amount of damages that the plaintiff should receive. Typically, a jury’s…
As anyone who has rented a rental car knows, figuring out who would be responsible for providing insurance coverage in the event of an accident can be very tricky. Most drivers will already be insured under their own private automobile insurance policies, but it can be unclear whether those policies…
Tennessee’s medical malpractice statute provides very specific requirements for individuals seeking to bring medical malpractice claims against Tennessee physicians and hospitals. These measures are enacted, in part, to reduce the filing of frivolous malpractice claims, as well as to ensure that all plaintiffs and defendants have equal access to sensitive…
In most situations, an individual can only be responsible for his or her own negligent actions. However, under certain principles known as “agency” laws, individuals or entities who are the employers, bosses, or superiors of another person may sometimes be responsible for the actions of their agent. Principals may be responsible…
Many negligence cases arise out of a failure of one party to properly protect others. A party may choose to cut corners, thereby creating a dangerous product, or may knowingly fail to correct an existing problem in order to save money. In these circumstances, when another person is injured as a…
Central to every negligence claim in Tennessee is the requirement that a defendant actually owe a duty to a plaintiff. The question of whether one owes a duty to another party often turns on the relationship between the two parties. For instance, an employer may owe a different duty to…