(a) As used in this section, “veterinary wellness committee” or “committee” means any committee, board, commission, or other entity established by any state-wide veterinary medical association or local veterinary medical association for the purpose of providing immediate and continuing help to veterinary professionals licensed to practice veterinary medicine or veterinary technology, students of veterinary medicine and veterinary technology, certified animal euthanasia technicians, and employees of veterinary practices in this state who suffer from physical or mental conditions that result from disease, disorder, trauma, or age and that impair their ability to perform their duties in veterinary medicine with reasonable skill and safety.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 63-12-118
Animal: means any animal other than man and includes fowl, birds, reptiles and fish, wild or domestic, living or dead. See Tennessee Code 63-12-103
Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. 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
Veterinary medicine: includes veterinary surgery, obstetrics, dentistry and all other branches or specialties of veterinary medicine. See Tennessee Code 63-12-103
(b) Veterinary wellness committee members, employees, and agents, including volunteers, taking any action authorized by this chapter, engaging in the performance of any duties on behalf of the committee, or participating in any administrative or judicial proceeding resulting from their participation on the committee, shall be immune from civil or criminal liability with respect to any action taken in good faith and without malice.(c) All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data furnished to or produced by a veterinary wellness committee and any findings, conclusions, reports, or recommendations resulting from the proceedings of the committee are privileged and confidential. Information and actions taken by the committee shall be privileged and held in strictest confidence and shall not be disclosed or required to be disclosed to any person or entity outside of the committee, unless such disclosure is authorized by the member of the veterinary profession to whom it relates. Nothing contained in this subsection (c) applies to records, documents, or information otherwise available from original sources, and such records, documents, or information are not immune from discovery or use in any civil proceedings solely due to having been presented to the committee.
