Texas Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Emergency Room Doctor
The Texas Supreme Court ruled in favor of emergency room physician Dr. Kristy Marsillo on January 11, concluding the plaintiff produced no evidence that her treatment of a snakebite was willfully and wantonly negligent, the required standard of proof in an emergency care case.
Thirteen-year-old Raynee Dunnick presented to Seton Medical Center Hays in Kyle with a rattlesnake bite on her left foot. Dr. Marsillo immediately implemented the hospital’s snakebite treatment plan, monitored the patient’s vital signs, repeatedly ordered blood work, and re-examined the severity of the injury to determine whether and when to administer antivenom.
TAPA files brief contending conclusory and unexplained statements are not evidence of a material fact
On December 22, 2022, TAPA filed an amicus brief in the Texas Supreme Court in a case regarding treating a snake bite in a hospital emergency department.
Particularly troublesome was the Third Court of Appeals’ holding that reversal of the trial court’s summary judgment ruling was warranted because “a possibility” existed that the physician was guilty of consciously putting her patient at extreme risk of harm.
Possibilities are not evidence, and allowing this reversal to stand has worrisome implications, including a watering down of the evidence required for a plaintiff to sue in an emergency department case.
Austin Attorney Chosen as New TAPA Leader. Jackson will protect Texas’ Historic Medical Liability Reforms
Austin, TX-- Austin attorney Brian Jackson has been named the new executive director of Texas Alliance for Patient Access. Jackson replaces the retiring Jon Opelt, who led the organization for 19 years.
Jackson has defended physicians, hospitals, and nurses in medical liability cases for 33 years. He has served as TAPA’s General Counsel since 2016 and will now become TAPA’s full-time executive director while still maintaining a part-time law practice.
TAPA is the unified voice of Texas healthcare on medical liability matters. Its members include the Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association, medical clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, charity clinics, and other healthcare organizations.
Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge to Caps on Non-economic Damages
Texas Civil Justice League
April 27, 2023
Austin Federal District Judge Lee Yeakel has dismissed a challenge to Texas’ cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases. Plaintiffs in Winnett, et al. v. Frank, et al. (No. 1:20-cv-01155-LY) contended that: (1) the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution should be incorporated through the Fourteenth Amendment and made applicable to the states; and (2) Texas’ cap on noneconomic damages in health care liability claims violates the Seventh Amendment’s guarantee that the right to a jury trial shall be “preserved.” There has been a long-held view, supported by U.S. Supreme Court precedent, that the Seventh Amendment’s right to a jury trial does not apply to the states.
Texas Supreme Court clarifies future periodic payment provision element of 2003 liability reforms on rehearing
On April 22, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion providing guidance on how courts should apply the periodic payments provision, a key element of the state’s 2003 landmark medical liability reforms, holding that the structure must in some way conform to the evidence presented to the jury at trial.
Brent Cooper, an attorney for Texas Alliance Patient Access, says the high court’s decision will be useful for healthcare defendants going forward.
“It puts parameters around the trial court’s decision and makes that decision reviewable by a higher court should the trial court fail to follow the statute,” Cooper said.