There have been a number of changes to Tennessee Medical Malpractice law since the initial tort reform efforts began in 2008. Here is an update:
2008 Amendment to Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act
In 2008, the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act was amended, introducing new requirements into medical malpractice litigation. See Act of April 24, 2008, ch. 919, 2008 Tenn. Pub. Acts 434; see generally Rebecca C. Blair, Med-Mal Obstacles, 44 Tenn. B.J. 14 (2008). The 2008 amendment required a party initiating a medical malpractice claim to give sixty days‟ pre-suit notice to the implicated health care providers. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a)(1) (Supp. 2008). Furthermore, the amendment contained a certificate-of-good-faith provision requiring a plaintiff filing a medical malpractice action, in which expert testimony was required, to file a certificate of good faith within ninety days of the filing of the initial complaint. Id. § 29-26-122. This certificate served to confirm that one or more experts had been consulted and provided a signed written statement of their belief that there was a good faith basis for filing the complaint. Id.
2009 Amendment to Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act
One year later, in 2009, the Act was again amended to clarify these new requirements. See Act of June 4, 2009, ch. 425, 2009 Tenn. Pub. Acts 472; see generally John A. Day, Med Mal Makeover: 2009 Act Improves on „08, 45 Tenn. B.J. 14 (2009). Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-121(a)(1) was amended to require that pre-suit notice only be given to persons or entities named as defendants in the action, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121(a)(1) (Supp. 2009), and section 121(a)(2) was amended to specify what information was required to be included in the pre-suit notice. See id. § 29-26- 121(a)(2). Additionally, Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-122 was amended to require the filing of the certificate of good faith with the complaint instead of within ninety days after its filing. See id. § 29-26-122.
2011 Amendment to Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act
The Legislature then passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011, further amending the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act. See Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011, ch. 510, 2011 Tenn. Pub Acts 1505 (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-101 et seq. (Supp. 2011)). Notably, the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011 amended the existing Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act by removing all references to “medical malpractice” from the Tennessee Code and replacing them with “health care liability” or “health care liability action” as applicable. See id. Furthermore, section 29-26-101 was added to the Code which defined “health care liability action” as “any civil action, including claims against the state or a political subdivision thereof, alleging that a health care provider or providers have caused an injury related to the provision of, or failure to provide, health care services to a person, regardless of the theory of liability on which the action is based.” Tenn. Code Ann. 29-26-101(a)(1) (Supp. 2011) (emphasis added). This same section went on to provide that “[a]ny such civil action or claim is subject to the provisions of this part regardless of any other claims, causes of action, or theories of liability alleged in the complaint.” Id. § 29-26-101(c).
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