Legal

Medical Futility Law Sustained - 05/20/2019

Court tosses out challenge to ethics committee review of end-of-life care.

Final Verdict? Case Tests Court's Ability to Overturn a Jury Verdict - 05/20/2019

It was an overwhelming, 12-0 verdict – a jury’s unanimous rejection of a negligence case against a Laredo physician. Then, a judge took that decision away and ordered a new trial – not because of jury misconduct, or any procedural stumble that usually negates a court decision. It was taken away, essentially, because the judge said so.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Physicians Can Get Subpoenaed in Divorce Cases - 03/11/2019

Physicians subpoenaed to participate in a divorce case, whether to testify or simply to supply medical records to the court, could find themselves at the center of an acrimonious split. There are certain things they should know.

The Right to Fight: Attorney-Client Protections for Physicians and Other Professionals Under Threat - 03/05/2019

The Texas Medical Association is asking the Texas Supreme Court to make sure physicians can maintain the right to keep attorney-client communications private when doctors testify as experts in their own cases.

High Court Decision Brings Favorable Wind for Physician Experts - 02/22/2019

The Texas Supreme Court has sided with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association – and by extension, with medicine – in a case that impacts physicians who testify as expert witnesses in their own defense.

Want To Learn More About Medical-Legal Issues? - 01/17/2019

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the legal issues associated with medicine, plan to attend the Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute, scheduled for early February in San Antonio

Supreme Court Agrees With TMA on Negligence Standard in Liability Case - 01/04/2019

After performing a grammatical deep dive, the Texas Supreme Court has sided with an obstetrician-gynecologist who argued that a higher standard of negligence should apply in a lawsuit against him over complications from a 2011 delivery.

“A Threat to All Texas Physicians:” TMA Backs Surgeon in Defamation Suit - 01/02/2019

Miguel Gomez, MD’s well-publicized legal fight isn’t over yet. In its latest turn, the Texas Medical Association is still standing behind the surgeon as he fights to uphold a verdict against one of the state’s largest nonprofit hospital systems for defaming him.

Legal Examination: Case Tests Lawsuit Immunity For Medical Examiners - 12/21/2018

Case tests lawsuit immunity for medical examiners.

TMA Wins Changes to Proposed Informed Consent Forms - 12/14/2018

The Texas Medical Disclosure Panel (TMDP) will take another run at amending its medical and surgical procedure form after the Texas Medical Association submitted strong objections to the form TMDP proposed in September.

TMA Backstops Surgeon in Defamation Case - 11/12/2018

Memorial Hermann Health System is appealing a 2017 judgment awarding a Houston cardiothoracic surgeon more than $6 million in a defamation case. The Texas Medical Association continues to support the surgeon by refuting part of the basis for the hospital’s appeal.

Punching Back: Hospital System Sued Again Over Alleged Peer Review Misconduct - 11/02/2018

Hospital system sued again over alleged peer review misconduct.

TMA Objects to Consent Form Changes - 10/31/2018

The Texas Medical Association has issued strong opposition to proposed amendments to the Texas Medical Disclosure Panel’s medical and surgical procedure form, saying they could “inject uncertainty into the informed consent process and thereby increase the likelihood of litigation.”

Get Help Navigating Texas’ Legal Landmines - Dec. 8 - 10/29/2018

Hiring an attorney for your practice can be time-consuming and expensive. Instead, get all the answers you need (and earn continuing medical education credit) by attending this one-day, in-depth training: Protecting Your Practice: Hot Button Legal Issues for Physicians, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 8.

TMA Supports Neurosurgeon in Negligence Suit - 10/26/2018

An appeals court ruled correctly when it reversed a nearly $2 million judgment against a Cypress neurosurgeon, the Texas Medical Association is telling the Texas Supreme Court in a friend-of-the-court brief. The case hinges on the credibility of expert witness testimony.

TMA Argues to Keep Higher Negligence Standard in Emergency Care - 10/23/2018

In a joint friend-of-the-court brief, the Texas Medical Association, Texas Alliance for Patient Access, Texas Hospital Association, and several other organizations told the Texas Supreme Court that proving a negligence case over emergency medical care in an obstetrical unit requires a higher-than-normal standard of proof under state law.

Does Hospital Plan to Give CRNAs Autonomy? - 10/12/2018

The Texas Society of Anesthesiologists is questioning a Corpus Christi hospital’s decision to replace its long-time anesthesiology team with a group it says appears ready to give certified registered nurse anesthetists more autonomy than Texas law allows.

Coming of Age: Celebrating 15 Years of Texas Tort Reform - 09/14/2018

After 15 years, the power of Texas' tort reforms shows up in both the numbers and the attitudes of physicians across the state, with less pressure to practice defensively, and more specialists filling rural voids.

Judge Nullifies Texas’ Fetal-Remains Disposal Law - 09/11/2018

A federal judge in Austin last week struck down a 2017 Texas law requiring health care facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains. In an order permanently blocking the law, U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra said in court that it would have been difficult for facilities to find medical waste vendors willing to participate in the burials or cremations.

Procedures on Informed Consent Lists Revised - 09/04/2018

The Texas Medical Disclosure Panel recently approved changes to the lists of medical care and surgical procedures that require disclosure of specific risks and hazards.

High Court Sides With Medicine in Nondisclosure Case - 08/21/2018

TMA fights to spare physicians from additional disclosure requirements not part of informed consent, and the Texas Supreme Court agrees.

Hospital Fires Employee Who Refused to Reveal Peer-Review Info, Lawsuit Claims - 07/10/2018

A former physician peer review coordinator at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston has sued her old employer, claiming she was fired in May after refusing to illegally reveal confidential peer-review information to a non-peer-review committee.

Corporate Encroachment - 07/02/2018

Recent complaints suggest threats to Texas’ ban on corporate practice.

TMA Asks AMA to Stay Out of Affordable Care Act Suit - 06/20/2018

Leaders of the Texas Medical Association on Tuesday publicly objected to the American Medical Association’s plans to get involved in a high-profile federal lawsuit — filed in Texas — challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Is Your Board Certification Safe? - 06/19/2018

Even a minor disciplinary order could pose risks to your board certification. One Texas subspecialist in an underserved area lost his certification, without warning or a chance to argue his case, when the TMB cited him for some minor missteps.