Banks v. Elks Club Pride of Tenn. - 1102, 301 S.W.3d 214 (Tenn. 2010)

Rule:

When two or more defendants are liable for the enhanced harm suffered by a plaintiff, and the governing law imposes several liability, each of the defendants is held liable for the amount of damages reflecting the enhanced harm discounted by the comparative share responsibility assigned by the fact finder to that defendant. When, under applicable law, a person is severally liable to an injured person for an indivisible injury, the injured person may recover only the severally liable person's comparative-responsibility share of the injured person's damages.

Facts:

Alice J. Banks attended a social event at an Elks Lodge in Nashville on March 24, 2006. While she was there, the chair on which she was seated collapsed, causing serious injuries to Ms. Banks's back. Ms. Banks consulted with Dr. Robert H. Boyce, a physician affiliated with Premier Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, P.C. ("Premier Orthopaedics"), who recommended lumbar surgery at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 levels. Ms. Banks agreed to the procedure. On May 16, 2006, Ms. Banks underwent surgery at Centennial Medical Center. While Dr. Boyce's operative report indicates that he performed a lumbar laminectomy and fusion at the L3-L4 and L4-L5 vertebrae as intended, he actually performed the surgery upon the L2-L3 and L3-L4 vertebrae. It was only after the surgery was completed that Dr. Boyce realized he mistakenly performed the surgery at the L2-L3, rather than the L4-L5 vertebrae. As a result, Ms. Banks was required to undergo a second surgery on May 17, 2006. Following Ms. Banks's surgeries, she was transferred to Cumberland Manor Nursing Home ("Cumberland Manor") for further recuperation and rehabilitation. While a patient at Cumberland Manor, Ms. Banks developed a serious staphylococcus infection that required additional surgeries and extensive care and treatment. Ms. Banks filed suit in the Circuit Court for Davidson County against the Elks Club Pride of Tennessee 1102, Pride of Tennessee Lodge of Elks No. 1102 Improved Benevolent, and Elks Lodge 1102 Pride of Tennessee ("Elks Lodge defendants") for negligence. Ms. Banks filed a separate lawsuit against Dr. Boyce and Premier Orthopaedics ("Dr. Boyce") in the Circuit Court for Davidson County for medical negligence and medical battery. 

Issue:

Are the defendants jointly and severally liable for the injuries?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The proximate cause argument forwarded by Ms. Banks overlooked the fact that in cases of this sort, the original tortfeasor's conduct was not the sole proximate cause of the plaintiff's indivisible injury. To the contrary, the independent tortious conduct of the original tortfeasor and one or more other parties were both proximate causes of the injury. The tortfeasors were not acting in concert, had not breached common duty, and did not have a relationship triggering the application of vicarious liability. The doctrine of joint and several liability no longer applied to circumstances in which separate, independent negligent acts of more than one tortfeasor combine to cause a single, indivisible injury. An actor whose tortious conduct causes physical harm to another was liable for any enhanced harm the other suffers due to the efforts of third persons to render aid reasonably required by the other's injury, as long as the enhanced harm arises from a risk that inheres in the effort to render aid. Thus, it was improper to maintain joint and several liability in cases involving subsequent medical negligence where there was even less cause.