(a) The court, before holding a governmental entity liable for damages, must first determine that the employee‘s or employees’ act or acts were negligent and the proximate cause of plaintiff‘s injury, that the employee or employees acted within the scope of their employment and that none of the exceptions listed in § 29-20-205 are applicable to the facts before the court.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-20-310

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Claim: means any claim brought against a governmental entity or its employee as permitted by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Employee: means and includes any official (whether elected or appointed), officer, employee or servant, or any member of any board, agency, or commission (whether compensated or not), or any officer, employee or servant thereof, of a governmental entity, including the sheriff and the sheriff's employees and, further including regular members of voluntary or auxiliary firefighting, police, or emergency assistance organizations. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Governmental entity: means any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee including, but not limited to, any municipality, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, nonprofit volunteer fire department receiving funds appropriated by a county legislative body or a legislative body of a municipality, human resource agency, community action agency or nonprofit corporation that administers the Head Start or Community Service Block Grant programs, public building authority, and development district created and existing pursuant to the constitution and laws of Tennessee, or any instrumentality of government created by any one (1) or more of the named local governmental entities or by an act of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • Injury: means death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property or any other injury that one may suffer to one's person, or estate, that would be actionable if inflicted by a private person or such person's agent. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) No claim may be brought against an employee or judgment entered against an employee for damages for which the immunity of the governmental entity is removed by this chapter unless the claim is one for health care liability brought against a health care practitioner. No claim for health care liability may be brought against a health care practitioner or judgment entered against a health care practitioner for damages for which the governmental entity is liable under this chapter, unless the amount of damages sought or judgment entered exceeds the minimum limits set out in § 29-20-403 or the amount of insurance coverage actually carried by the governmental entity, whichever is greater, and the governmental entity is also made a party defendant to the action. As used in this subsection (b), “health care practitioner” means physicians licensed under title 63, chapter 6, and nurses licensed under title 63, chapter 7.
(c) No claim may be brought against an employee or judgment entered against an employee for injury proximately caused by an act or omission of the employee within the scope of the employee’s employment for which the governmental entity is immune in any amount in excess of the amounts established for governmental entities in § 29-20-403, unless the act or omission was willful, malicious, criminal, or performed for personal financial gain, or unless the act or omission was one of health care liability committed by a health care practitioner and the claim is brought against such health care practitioner. As used in this subsection (c), “health care practitioner” means physicians licensed under title 63, chapter 6, and nurses licensed under title 63, chapter 7.
(d) Local governmental entities shall have the right, as a matter of local option, to elect to insure or to indemnify their employees for claims for which the governmental entity is immune under this chapter arising under state or federal law upon such terms and conditions as the local government may deem appropriate; provided, that such indemnification may not exceed the limits of liability established for governmental entities in § 29-20-403 except in causes of action in which the liability of governmental employees is not limited as provided in this chapter.
(e)

(1) As used in this subsection (e), “volunteer” means a person who donates or volunteers that person’s time or services to a local governmental entity when the donation of such time or services is at the request of the local governmental entity and under the direction of a local governmental employee.
(2) A local governmental entity may elect to insure or indemnify its volunteers for claims arising under state or federal law for which the governmental entity is immune under this chapter. Such insurance or indemnification shall be upon such terms and conditions as the local governmental entity establishes. However, no such indemnification may exceed the limits of liability established for governmental entities in § 29-20-403. The volunteer shall be liable for any amount in excess of such limits of governmental liability established in § 29-20-403.
(3) Nothing in this subsection (e) may be construed to affect the status of regular members of a voluntary or auxiliary firefighting, police or emergency assistance organization as employees of a governmental entity as provided in § 29-20-107(d), nor to impair any immunity granted to these personnel because of that status.
(f)

(1) No claim may be brought against an employee or judgment entered against an employee for any loss, damage, injury, or death arising from COVID-19, as defined in § 14-1-101, and proximately caused by an act or omission of the employee within the scope of the employee’s employment for which the governmental entity is immune, unless the claimant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the loss, damage, injury, or death was caused by an act or omission that was willful, malicious, criminal, or performed for personal financial gain.
(2)

(A) In any claim alleging loss, damage, injury, or death arising from COVID-19 under this subsection (f), the claimant must file a verified complaint pleading specific facts with particularity from which a finder of fact could reasonably conclude that the alleged loss, damage, injury, or death was caused by the defendant’s willful, malicious, or criminal act or omission, or performed for personal financial gain.
(B) In any claim alleging loss, damage, injury, or death based on exposure to or contraction of COVID-19 under this subsection (f), the claimant must also file with the verified complaint a certificate of good faith stating that the claimant or claimant’s counsel has consulted with a physician duly licensed to practice in the state or a contiguous bordering state, and the physician has provided a signed written statement that the physician is competent to express an opinion on exposure to or contraction of COVID-19 and, upon information and belief, believes that the alleged loss, damage, injury, or death was caused by an act or omission of the defendant or defendants.
(3) The failure of a claimant to satisfy the requirements of subdivisions (f)(1) and (2), if required by subdivision (f)(2), shall, upon motion, make the action subject to dismissal with prejudice.
(4) [Deleted by 2023 amendment.]
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