Cases

Burk v. RHA/Sullivan, Inc., 2006 Tenn. App. LEXIS 637 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006)

Resident suffered from Alzheimers’s dementia. While he was in the nursing home, he developed a severe scrotal infection. He was taken to the hospital on September 8, 2003 where hospital personnel described his condition as the worst case of neglect they had ever seen. Resident died on November 4, 2003. Suit was filed on September 30, 2004. Trial court granted summary judgment finding that Plaintiffs filed suit after the one-year statute of limitations ran. Plaintiffs argued on appeal that in a wrongful death action, the limitations period is one year from discovery. T.C.A. § 29-26-116(a). The court found that the facts establishing the date of discovery were clear; hospital personnel told Plaintiffs no later than September 9, 2003, that it was the worst case of neglect they had seen. The court went on to note that Tennessee’s legal disability statute, T.C.A. § 28-1-106, tolls the statute of limitations for legally disabled individuals for so long as the disability of unsound mind remains regardless of whether the individual has had a legal guardian appointed to pursue claims of his behalf. The court concluded that the trial court was correct in granting summary judgment on the discovery rule, but vacated the judgment and remanded the care for consideration of whether Resident suffered from a legal disability. Decided: October 2, 2006.

Opinion at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCA/PDF/064/burkopn.pdf

Published by
David McGuffey
Tags: Tennessee

Recent Posts

ADLs and IADLs

ADLs and IADLs Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living describe basic…

5 days ago

Planning for Adult Children with Disabilities

Planning for Adult Children with Disabilities Childhood Disability Benefits assist disabled children and adults who…

6 days ago

Are Video Wills Valid?

Video Wills You might wonder whether you can make a video recording of yourself stating…

4 weeks ago

2025 Georgia Medicaid Transfer Penalty

2025 Georgia Medicaid Transfer Penalty If an applicant for long-term care Medicaid (e.g., nursing home…

1 month ago

Another Scam, and this one makes my blood boil

Recently, my dad died. While I was driving back from being sworn in as his…

2 months ago

Review of Georgia Cases on Testamentary Capacity

In Georgia, an individual has legal capacity to make a Will "when the testator has…

3 months ago