Summary Judgement Reversed Upon Disqualification of Medical Experts

DONNA FAYE SHIPLEY, ET AL. v. ROBIN WILLIAMS, M.D. (Tenn. Ct. App. August 14, 2009)

In reliance on plaintiff's experts, the trial court granted defendant doctor's motion for partial summary judgment on the medical malpractice claim pertaining to defendant's failure to admit plaintiff into the hospital. The trial court later granted the defendant doctor summary judgment on the remaining malpractice claims finding that the plaintiff's medical expert proof previously relied upon by defendant failed to comply with Tenn. Code Ann. section 29-26-115. We reverse the grant of partial summary judgment on the failure to admit claim since the defendant doctor relied solely on plaintiff's experts, whose testimony was later found inadmissible. We also reverse the summary judgment of the remaining malpractice claims since the defendant doctor never presented proof to negate an element of those claims. Consequently, the plaintiff had no duty to create issues of fact at the summary judgment phase.

The full text of this opinion is available at the TBA website:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2009/shipleyd_081409.pdf