Business Law 12th Edition by Roger LeRoy Miller ,Frank Cross

Exercise 8

Negligence and Multiparty Liability Alice Banks was injured when a chair she was sitting on at an Elks club collapsed. As a result of her injury, Dr. Robert Boyce performed the surgery on her back, fusing certain vertebrae. However, Boyce fused the wrong vertebrae and then had to perform a second surgery to correct the error. Then, during rehabilitation at a nursing home, Banks developed a serious staph infection that required additional surgeries and extensive care and treatment. She sued the Elks club and Boyce for negligence. The Elks club and Boyce filed motions against each other and also sued the nursing home. After complicated holdings by lower courts, the Tennessee Supreme Court reviewed the matter. Did the Elks club have primary liability for all of the injuries suffered by Banks after the initial accident, or did each defendant alone contribute to Banks's injuries? Explain. [ Ranks v. Elks Club Pride of Tennessee, 301 S.W.3d 214 (Sup.Ct.Tenn. 2010)]