FRED HAYWARD v. CHATTANOOGA-HAMILTON COUNTY HOSPITAL AUTHORITY d/b/a ERLANGER HEALTH SYSTEM ET AL. - Articles

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FRED HAYWARD v. CHATTANOOGA-HAMILTON COUNTY HOSPITAL AUTHORITY d/b/a ERLANGER HEALTH SYSTEM ET AL.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Apr 27, 2023

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: Michael M. Thomas and W. Neil Thomas, III, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Fred Hayward.

Attorneys 2: Daniel M. Stefaniuk and Drew H. Reynolds, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority d/b/a Erlanger Health System.

Judge(s): SWINEY

This health care liability action was brought against a hospital and a physician. The plaintiff sent pre-suit notice to three1 potential defendants prior to initiating the action. The trial court found, however, that the plaintiff failed to include as part of the pre-suit notice a HIPAA-compliant medical authorization because one of the six core elements was incorrect on the authorization. Following a motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(6), the trial court granted the motion and dismissed the action against the defendant hospital due to noncompliance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121. The plaintiff argues, among other things, that he should have been allowed to conduct limited discovery in order to determine whether the defendant hospital had been prejudiced by his failure to provide a HIPAA-compliant medical authorization. We vacate the trial court’s grant of the motion to dismiss and hold that the plaintiff should have been permitted to conduct limited discovery regarding whether prejudice existed for the trial court to consider in its determination of whether the plaintiff substantially complied with the pre-suit notice requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-121.

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