Susan Anderson, By Her Conservator Rebecca Woods v. Alexian Village of Tennessee

07/31/2025 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE June 26, 2025 Session SUSAN ANDERSON, BY HER CONSERVATOR, REBECCA WOODS, ET AL. v. ALEXIAN VILLAGE OF TENNESSEE Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hamilton County No. 24C283 Michael J. Dumitru, Judge ___________________________________ No. E2024-00977-COA-R3-CV ___________________________________ In this health care liability action, the trial court dismissed the action with prejudice upon finding that the plaintiff had failed to comply with the pre-suit notice requirements found in Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-26-121. The plaintiff has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed; Case Remanded THOMAS R. FRIERSON, II, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which D. MICHAEL SWINEY, C.J., and KRISTI M. DAVIS, J., joined. Michael M. Thomas and W. Neil Thomas, III, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Susan Anderson, by her conservators, Rebecca Woods and Southeastern Trust Company. Daniel M. Stefaniuk and Brie Allaman Stewart, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellee, Alexian Village of Tennessee. OPINION I. Factual and Procedural History The plaintiff, Susan Anderson, by and through her conservator, Rebecca Woods 1 (“Conservator”), filed a complaint on February 21, 2024, in the Hamilton County Circuit Court (“trial court”) against Alexian Village of Tennessee (“Alexian”), a rehabilitation facility located in Signal Mountain. Ms. Anderson stated in the complaint that she was a 1 Ms. Woods was appointed conservator over the person of Ms. Anderson on February 15, 2017, by the Hamilton County Chancery Court, due to Ms. Anderson’s disability status. resident at Alexian and that in November 2022, Alexian employees had failed to provide proper care and services to her, including a failure to diagnose and properly treat sores on her body. Ms. Anderson also alleged that Alexian employees had failed to assess her needs and perform regular care protocols on an ongoing basis. Ms. Anderson further alleged, inter alia, that Alexian had failed to properly train its employees and provide sufficient staffing. Due to these purported failures, Ms. Anderson asserted that she had been suffering from bedsores and lesions that had become progressively more serious over time. Ms. Anderson thereby averred that Alexian had breached the standard of care applicable to nursing homes and had caused her damages. Ms. Anderson attached to the complaint a copy of her contract with Alexian, which outlined the services that were to be provided to her. Ms. Anderson also attached a certificate of good faith in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-26-122, a copy of the pre-suit notice letter sent in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-26- 121, an affidavit from Ms. Anderson’s attorney stating that he had timely mailed the notice letter along with the postal receipt, and a copy of the HIPAA-compliant medical authorization. On February 23, 2024, Ms. Anderson filed an amended complaint adding Southeastern Trust Company, appointed as limited conservator of Ms. Anderson’s estate, as an additional party plaintiff. On April 1, 2024, Alexian filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6). Alexian asserted that Ms. Anderson had failed to comply with the notice requirement set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-26-121 because her pre-suit notice was deficient. Alexian stated that Ms. Anderson had (1) improperly directed her pre-suit notice to two former affiliates of Alexian, neither of whom had been associated with Alexian for at least five years; (2) failed to properly identify the name and address of the claimant authorizing the notice, in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated § 29- 26-121(a)(2)(B); and (3) failed to prove compliance by attaching a copy of the notices actually sent to Alexian. Due to these failures, Alexian requested that the trial court dismiss Ms. Anderson’s complaint with prejudice. On April 17, 2024, Ms. Anderson filed a motion to amend her complaint, seeking to add a copy of the affidavit and notice of intent to sue that had been sent to Alexian, along with the postal receipts. The attached notice letter, dated October 25, 2023, listed the recipients as “Michael Hambley, Chief Executive Officer,” and “Jeffrey Ott, President,” and was addressed to Alexian’s business address. Ms. Anderson also filed a response in opposition to the motion to dismiss, arguing that she had substantially complied with the requirements of the statute because the notice letters wer