Coming to Nashville Friday, May 2, 2008 Nashville School of Law 4013 Armory Oaks Drive (615) 256-3684

*Take advantage of this unique opportunity to earn 7.5 hours of General CLE credit, including 2 hours hours Dual CLE credit.

Cost: Just $297

BONUS CD: With our BONUS CD, you stay up-to-date on all significant appellate court decisions involving medical malpractice for the past year!

Tennessee Attorneys Memo has assembled a stellar cast of attorneys from both the plaintiff's and the defense bar to provide you with up-to-date information and practice tips. Plus, Judge Walter Kurtz will speak on common problems arising in medical malpractice cases.

Plaintiff's Attorneys Will Learn

• How to evaluate a medical malpractice case to determine if the case is winnable, how much it will cost you in both time
  and money, and how much you can get for your client.
• The latest word from Tennessee’s appellate courts on the
  locality rule.
• How courts are judging the conduct of a health care provider.
• When the res ipsa loquitur doctrine can be used to prove causation.

Defense Attorneys Will Learn

• What defenses are available in a medical malpractice case.
• How to exclude or discredit your opponent’s expert evidence.
• How to get the most out of discovery.
• What ethical issues could arise when representing more than one health care client.

Faculty

Brandon Bass,
Day & Blair PC
Brandon Bass’ core practice areas include products liability and medical malpractice. He has assisted victims in recovering their losses from doctors and other health care providers. One of Mr. Bass’s clients was a child who was left in a persistent vegetative state after being infected by methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA). He also helped the wife and daughter of a man who died due to a pulmonary embolism. In another case, he assisted the children of a father who was not prescribed necessary antibiotics and ultimately passed away as the result of an infection. Mr. Bass serves on the Board of Governors for the Tennessee Association for Justice. He has been a member of the John Marshall American Inn of Court in Williamson County, Tennessee. Mr. Bass is a graduate of Purdue University and the University of Tennessee College of Law. In addition, he writes the Tennessee Tort Law Letter with John Day and Rebecca Blair, a monthly newsletter summarizing and providing commentary on recent Tennessee personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Rebecca Blair
Day & Blair PC
Rebecca Blair represents patients who have been injured or have lost their lives as a result of a health care provider’s failure to prevent, diagnose and/or properly treat numerous medical conditions and illnesses, such as deep vein thrombosis leading to pulmonary embolism and death, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, and MRSA sepsis. She has also represented patients who have been the victims of improperly performed medical procedures including liposuction and oral surgery, and injured children and their parents — particularly those who have been the victims of medical malpractice during labor and delivery. Ms. Blair is an active member of the Tennessee Association for Justice, serving on the Executive Committee and Board of Governors and also a member of the American Association for Justice. Along with John Day and Brandon Bass, she founded the Fundamentals of Civil Litigation program in 2002. During the past five years, the program has been a tremendous success, providing hundreds of lawyers from across the state a foundation of litigation skills. Ms. Blair is an Associate Editor of Tennessee Tort Law Letter. She graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Nashville Circuit Judge Walter C. Kurtz
Judge Walter C. Kurtz received his B.A. from The Citadel in 1965. After serving in the Army he attended Vanderbilt Law School, graduating with a J.D. in 1972. Judge Kurtz then served as Director of Legal Services of Nashville (Legal Aid) from 1973-1976 and as the elected Metropolitan Public Defender from 1978-1982. He has taught law at both Vanderbilt Law School and The University of Tennessee Law School. He has argued and won a case before the Supreme Court of The United States. Judge Kurtz has served continuously as a Circuit Judge since his election in 1982 and was Presiding Judge from 1987-1989. During his tenure as judge, he has presided over numerous medical malpractice cases. Judge Kurtz will retire from the circuit court on March 21 and will become the state’s fifth senior judge.

Margaret Moore
Gideon & Wiseman PLC
Margaret Moore’s practice focuses primarily on defending physicians and hospitals in medical/hospital malpractice actions. Ms. Moore has represented such clients as Centennial Medical Center, Skyline Medical Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Southern Hills Medical Center, Summit Medical Center, and Crockett Hospital at both the trial court and appellate levels. Ms. Moore has been involved in the following appellate cases: Bryant v. HCA Health Services of Tennessee, Inc., 15 S.W.3d. 804 (Tenn. 2000); Mallard v. Tompkins, 44 S.W.3d. 73 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2000); Adams v. Hendersonville Hosp. Corp., 2007 WL 1462245 (Tenn.Ct.App. 2007); Brazier v. Crockett Hosp., 2006 WL 2040408 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006); Age v. HCA Health Svcs. of Tn., Inc., 2002 WL 1255531 (Tenn.Ct.App. 2002); McBee v. HCA Health Services of Tennessee, Inc., 2000 WL 1533000 (Tenn.Ct.App.2000); and Jones v. HCA Health Services of Tennessee, Inc. 1999 WL 1206691 (Tenn.Ct.App. 1999).

Bill Walton
Miller & Martin PLLC
Bill Walton has experience with commercial business litigation, commercial insurance coverage disputes, products liability, claims of medical and legal malpractice, and personal injury/wrongful death. He represents commercial business and individual clients in a variety of different matters both at the trial court and appellate level. Representative medical malpractice civil litigation includes Rose v. H.C.A. Health Services of Tennessee, Inc., 947 S.W.2d 144 (Tenn.Ct.App.1996), Sommer v. Davis, 317 F.3d 686 (6th Cir. 2003), and Johnson v. Sumner Regional Health Systems, 2000 WL 1030740 (Tenn.Ct.App.2000). He received his J.D., with high honors and Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was casenotes editor for the Tennessee Law Review.

 

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., the conference kicks off at 8:00 a.m., and concludes at 5:15 p.m. There will be an hour and 15-minute break for lunch, along with two 15-minute breaks.

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Medical Malpractice Conference for Tennessee Attorneys
is just $297. Click below to register,
or call (800) 274-6774.

Remember, you risk nothing by registering, because we will refund every penny, no questions asked, if you are in any way dissatisfied.

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Agenda

Case Evaluation
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
Rebecca Blair

• Can I win this case?
• What could I accomplish for these people?
• What is this going to cost to my money, my practice, and my life?

Break 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

What is the Standard of Care?
9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Brandon Bass

• How courts judge health care provider’s conduct
• Evidence that works
• Specialist health care providers
• The locality rule

Causation Issues
10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Rebecca Blair

• Patients’ existing health issues
• Res ipsa loquitur
• Defendants’ causation theories
• What a specialist would have done if consulted

Lunch on your own 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Defenses Under The Medical Malpractice Act
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Margaret Moore

• Medical judgment rule
• Statutes of limitation and repose
• Comparative fault of the patient and non-parties
• Superseding cause
• Medical expenses unrecoverable under the Act

Common Problems in Medical Malpractice Cases: A Judge’s View
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Judge Walter C. Kurtz

• Unqualified expert
• Confusion between medical malpractice, battery, and lack of informed consent claims
• Amendment – relation back
• Statute of limitation – discovery rule
• Agency
• Proof of damages
• Definition of malpractice
• Hospital policy and procedures – admissibility

Judge Kurtz will discuss common mistakes and problems that arise
in medical malpractice cases. He will then be joined by Rebecca
Blair and Margaret Moore for a panel discussion and audience
Q&A.

Break 3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Expert Issues/Rule 26 Disclosure Standards
3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Margaret Moore

• Necessity of expert proof
• Expert disclosure requirements
• Admissibility of expert testimony
• Challenges under the locality rule
• Discovery of expert information

Ethical Issues From the Defense Perspective
4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Bill Walton

• The defense lawyer’s fiduciary duty to the health care provider and conflicts which may arise between the insurer/employer of the health care provider — who may have selected the lawyer — and the actual health care provider
• How defense lawyers view “policy limit” demands and the negotiating strategies of plaintiffs during mediation
• Potential issues which may arise with dual representation of health care clients and cooperation in discovery matters between counsel