The Tennessee Supreme Court on July 20 made two rulings saying vicarious liability claims against hospitals can proceed when statute of limitations barred claims against agents.
The court ruled that the Health Care Liability Act abrogates the operation-of-law exception, according to a news release. Its reasoning was that applying an exception would nullify the Health Care Liability Act's "automatic extension of the statute of limitations for defendants to whom pre-suit notice is provided," according to a news release from the Tennessee office of the courts.
The first case arose from the death of a patient after she was discharged from TriStar Skyline Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. The woman's family asserted liability against the hospital but didn't sue its agents. The other case stemmed from a patient who was injured during surgery. She also asserted liability against the hospital but not its agents.