 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Hancock v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority8/31/2001
We granted appeal to determine 1) whether filial consortium losses are recoverable in wrongful death actions; and 2) whether the medical malpractice statute of repose, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116, bars the plaintiffs' amendment to the complaint to include consortium damages.
We hold that (1) filial consortium damages are recoverable under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113 in wrongful death actions; and (2) the plaintiffs' amendment to the complaint to include consortium damages does not state a new cause of action and is therefore not barred by Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals' judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Tenn. R. App. P. 11 Appeal by Permission; Judgment of the Court of Appeals Reversed; Case Remanded to the Trial Court.
Janice M. Holder, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which E. Riley Anderson, C.J., and Frank F. Drowota, III, Adolpho A. Birch, Jr. and William M. Barker, JJ, joined.
OPINION
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Breanna Hancock received medical treatment on January 18, 1994, at Chattanooga-Hamilton County Memorial Hospital Authority d/b/a T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital (the Hospital) and Kenneth Platt, M.D. On January 20, 1994, Breanna died at the Hospital. On December 15, 1994, Breanna's parents, Timothy P. Hancock and Tina M. Hancock, filed a complaint against the Hospital and Dr. Platt alleging that Breanna's death resulted from the defendants' negligence.
The complaint alleged that as a result of the defendants' negligence, the Hancocks suffered and continue to suffer extreme mental anguish and emotional distress. To compensate for their daughter's alleged wrongful death, the Hancocks requested damages for the pecuniary value of her life. On January 25, 1999, we held in Jordan v. Three Rivers Baptist Hospital, 984 S.W.2d 593 (Tenn. 1999), that parental and spousal consortium losses were recoverable under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113. On July 20, 1999, the Hancocks moved to amend their complaint to include the loss of Breanna's consortium.
On October 19, 1999, the trial court denied the Hancocks' motion to amend their complaint. The trial court's judgment was based on three grounds: (1) the amendment was barred by the statute of repose found in Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-116; (2) Jordan explicitly does not apply to parents seeking consortium damages for the loss of a child ; and (3) Jordan could not be applied retroactively to the case.
The Court of Appeals granted an interlocutory appeal and affirmed the trial court's ruling that Jordan could not be applied retroactively to pending cases. Thereafter, in Hill v. City of Germantown, 31 S.W.3d 234 (Tenn. 1999), we held that Jordan applies retroactively to cases tried or retried after Jordan and to cases pending on appeal in which the issue decided in Jordan was raised at an appropriate time. Hill, 31 S.W.3d at 240. We therefore reverse the Court of Appeals on that issue. In the interest of judicial economy, we will rule on the issues pretermitted by the Court of Appeals in lieu of remand.
II. ANALYSIS
A. FILIAL CONSORTIUM DAMAGES
The first issue not addressed by the Court of Appeals is whether filial consortium damages are recoverable under Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-5-113. Based upon both our interpretation of the Tennessee wrongful death statutes in Jordan and the trend of modern authority, we hold that filial consortium damages may be recovered in a wrongful death action.
In Jordan, we held that the "pecuniary value of a decedent's life includes the element of d
Page 1 2 3 Tennessee Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|