Legal Malpractice in Tennessee Can Arise out of any Type of Civil Case

Legal malpractice occurs when an attorney behaves in a negligent manner or breaches an agreement while representing a client, which leads to actual harm that can be calculated in financial terms.  These cases are particularly difficult because the attorneys handling the legal malpractice case must demonstrate that the outcome of the underlying case would have been different if the original attorney had not committed malpractice.  This is important in medical malpractice cases where it is necessary to show that the case would have been successful but for the lawyer’s negligence.

In May 2013, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion that a medical malpractice case was filed too late.  In this case, a couple had brought the action based on the death of their son after a visit to Williamson Medical Center on November 14, 2008 for abdominal pain.  Their son died on November 25, 2008 as the result of respiratory complications.  The attorney for the couple provided notice of the intent to file litigation, as required by the Medical Malpractice Act, on November 14 and 16, 2009.  Pursuant to Tennessee law, this 60-day notice of intent extends the time in which to file a medical malpractice action by 120 days.  However, there is another law that impacts the time in which to file an action, specifically the Governmental Tort Liability Act.  This act mandates that any medical malpractice action being brought against a governmental entity must be filed within one year of the incident that prompted the suit.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the couple’s claim was brought under the Governmental Tort Liability Act (GTLA) as well as Tennessee’s medical malpractice law.  The Court determined that the legislature did not explicitly apply the 120-day extension period found in the medical malpractice act to the provisions of the GTLA and therefore the extension did not apply and the deadline for filing the medical malpractice action had passed at the time the lawsuit was filed.

In order to be clear, there is no indication in this case that the couple whose lawsuit was dismissed is going to bring a legal malpractice claim against the attorneys who did not file the case in a timely manner, nor do the attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC have any opinion on whether legal malpractice was, in fact, committed in this case.  This situation is merely demonstrative of a case in which legal malpractice might have occurred.  There was a conflict in the timing in which the lawsuit had to be filed and the Supreme Court determined that the filing was untimely.  If this were being considered for a legal malpractice action, the attorneys would have to believe that a reasonable attorney would have known that there were different potential filing deadlines and would have filed the action to be in compliance with the earlier deadline.  The legal malpractice attorney also would have to prove that the medical malpractice case would have been successful if it had been allowed to go forward.  These involve multiple complex analyses and offers of proof.

Legal malpractice can happen in a wide variety of cases.  In order to be successful in this type of case, the attorneys have to be skilled in legal malpractice actions and also have the knowledge and experience to succeed in proving the underlying case.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, our Tennessee legal malpractice attorneys have the background and expertise to get justice for those who have been the victim of legal malpractice.  We will take the time to evaluate what happened to you and provide honest answers to all of your questions.  In order to set up a time to tell us what happened to you, call us at 901-680-9777.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.