(a) No civil action alleging a silica claim or mixed dust disease claim may be filed in the courts of Tennessee after July 1, 2006, unless the plaintiff was a resident of Tennessee at the time the claim arose or the plaintiff’s claim arose in Tennessee. For purposes of this part, a claim arises in Tennessee if the plaintiff was located in Tennessee at the time the plaintiff alleges to have been exposed to silica or mixed dust.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-34-308

  • Civil action: means all suits or claims of a civil nature in a court of record, whether cognizable as cases at law or in equity or admiralty. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Mixed dust: means a mixture of dusts composed of silica and one (1) or more other fibrogenic dusts capable of inducing pulmonary fibrosis if inhaled in sufficient quantity. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Mixed dust disease claim: includes a claim made by or on behalf of any person who has been exposed to mixed dust, or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person, for injury, including mental or emotional injury, death, or loss to the person, risk of disease or other injury, costs of medical monitoring or surveillance, or any other effects on the person's health that are caused by the person's exposure to mixed dust. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Physical impairment: means a condition of an exposed person as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Silica: means a respirable crystalline form of the naturally occurring mineral form of silicon dioxide, including, but not limited to, quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Silica claim: includes a claim made by or on behalf of any person who has been exposed to silica, or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person, for injury, including mental or emotional injury, death, or loss to the person, risk of disease or other injury, costs of medical monitoring or surveillance, or any other effects on the person's health that are caused by the person's exposure to silica. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • 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
  • Substantial contributing factor: means both of the following:
    (i) Exposure to silica or mixed dust is the predominate cause of the physical impairment alleged in the silica claim or mixed dust disease claim, whichever is applicable. See Tennessee Code 29-34-303
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(b) To comply with this section in relation to an action that involves both claims that arose in this state and claims that arose outside this state, a court shall consider each claim individually and shall sever from the action the claims that are subject to this part.
(c) A civil action under this part may be filed only in the venue where the plaintiff resides, or was exposed to silica, mixed dust, or both, that was a substantial contributing factor to the physical impairment on which plaintiff’s claim is based. If a plaintiff alleges that the plaintiff was exposed to silica, mixed dust, or both, in more than one (1) venue, the court shall determine, upon motion of any defendant found outside the venue in which the tort action is pending, which venue is the most appropriate forum for the claim, considering the relative amounts and lengths of the plaintiff’s exposure to silica or mixed dust in each venue.
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