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Troubling Texas Med-Mal Opinion

In a case of first impression, Villasan v. O’Rourke, the Beaumont 9th Court of Appeals made an unfortunate interpretation of Texas’ horrible 2003 medical malpractice tort "reform" statute.

One portion of the 2003 law states that a plaintiff can’t sue both a doctor and the governmental agency that employs that doctor. Or more precisely, that the employee will be dismissed from the suit upon a motion filed by the governmental agency.

In this case, the plaintiff sued both the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston (UTMB) and a doctor employed by UTMB. UTMB filed a motion to dismiss the employee doctor, and in response the plaintiff filed an amended petition dismissing UTMB and naming only the doctor as a defendant. Then the doctor filed a motion to dismiss based on the fact the plaintiff had originally sued both the doctor and UTMB. The Court says the doctor can be dismissed — leaving NO defendants in the case!

In practical terms, this means a plaintiff must determine before filing suit whether the employee or the employer is more responsible, and must sue only that one defendant. Of course, making this determination before suit is filed is often impossible.

This is the new reality of medical malpractice law in Texas — government doctors are basically immune from lawsuits. Welcome to Tort Reform, Texas Style.

Bob Kraft

I am a Dallas, Texas lawyer who has had the privilege of helping thousands of clients since 1971 in the areas of Personal Injury law and Social Security Disability.

About This Blog

The title of this blog reflects my attitude toward those government agencies and insurance companies that routinely mistreat injured or disabled people. As a Dallas, Texas lawyer, I've spent more than 45 years trying to help those poor folk, and I have been frustrated daily by the actions of the people on the other side of their claims. (Sorry if I offended you...)

If you find this type of information interesting or helpful, please visit my law firm's main website at KraftLaw.com. You will find many more articles and links. Thank you for your time.

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