Kaitlyn Calaway ex rel. and Kathleen Calaway v. Jodi Schucker, M.D.

Pursuant to Rule 23, we accepted four certified questions of law from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Tennessee. The third certified question is the central question of
the four and is dispositive of the others: Is the three-year statute of repose for medical malpractice
in Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-26-116, which contains no exception for minority, tolled
during a plaintiff’s minority? Our answer is that the three-year statute of repose for medical
malpractice actions is not tolled during the plaintiff’s minority. Giving effect to the plain language
of the statute and finding no exception for minority among the two express exceptions in it—and
cognizant of our constitutional role as interpreters, not makers, of the law—we hold that plaintiffs
in their minority are bound by the three-year medical malpractice statute of repose. However, in
order to avoid undue hardship to potential plaintiffs who have justly relied upon federal court and
lower court precedents erroneously stating the opposite rule, the new rule we announce today is to apply prospectively only. Therefore, for cases commenced on or before December 9, 2005, we hold that the plaintiff’s minority tolls the medical malpractice statute of repose. For cases commenced after December 9, 2005, we hold that the plaintiff’s minority does not toll the medical malpractice statute of repose.