TFP Editoral Board discussing the Tennessee Nursing Home Patient Protection Act of 2008

Nursing home industry officials and attorneys today championed a tort reform bill, recently referred to Tennessee’s House and Senate Judiciary Committees, during a Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial board meeting.

The legislation would limit noneconomic and punitive damages awarded in nursing home lawsuit cases, but critics maintain it would restrict the rights of nursing home patients and their families.

In Tennessee, nursing home liability costs have skyrocketed, as out-of-state lawyers move in to take advantage of the lack of regulation in nursing home cases here, said Steve Flatt, senior vice president of development with National HealthCare Corp.

Dozens of other states have passed nursing home liability reform in the past decade, he said.

For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.