VICKIE S. YOUNG, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF RANDALL JOSH YOUNG, DECEASED v. FRIST CARDIOLOGY, PLLC ET AL. - Articles

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VICKIE S. YOUNG, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF RANDALL JOSH YOUNG, DECEASED v. FRIST CARDIOLOGY, PLLC ET AL.

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Apr 20, 2020

Court: TN Supreme Court

Attorneys 1: Travis B. Swearingen, Andrew D. Tharp, and James A. Beakes III, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellants, Frist Cardiology, PLLC and Thomas J. Killian, M.D.

Attorneys 2: D. Russell Thomas, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the appellee, Vickie S. Young.

Judge(s): LEE

We granted review to determine whether a doctor is qualified to testify in a health care liability case as an expert witness under Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26- 115(b) when the doctor was not licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee or a contiguous state within one year of the alleged injury or wrongful conduct, but was practicing under a licensure exemption. Section 29-26-115(b) provides that a doctor is competent to testify as an expert witness only if the doctor is licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee or a contiguous state and the doctor was practicing medicine in Tennessee or a contiguous state during the year before the date of the alleged injury or wrongful conduct. We hold that under Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-115(b), a doctor, who was permitted to practice medicine in Tennessee under a statutory licensure exemption but was not licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee or a contiguous state during the year before the date of the alleged injury or wrongful conduct, does not meet the requirements of section 29-26-115(b) to testify as an expert witness in a health care liability action. We reverse and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings.

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