Parrish v. Brooks

856 S.W.2d 522, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1439, 1993 WL 158771
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 18, 1993
Docket6-92-110-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 856 S.W.2d 522 (Parrish v. Brooks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parrish v. Brooks, 856 S.W.2d 522, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1439, 1993 WL 158771 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

OPINION

CORNELIUS, Chief Justice.

Walter and Marjorie Parrish appeal from summary judgments in favor of Dr. E.E. Brooks and Red River Hospital Authority d/b/a Red River General Hospital. The Parrishes sued Dr. Brooks and Red River, among others, for damages allegedly resulting from the negligent medical treatment of their son, Charles Parrish. We affirm the summary judgment in favor of Red River, but reverse the summary judgment in favor of Dr. Brooks.

I.

During the evening of August 12, 1988, Charles Parrish was injured in an automobile accident. He was taken by ambulance to Red River Hospital and was examined and treated by Dr. Wade Warren. Dr. Warren was working at the hospital under a contract between Red River and Coastal Emergency Services, P.A., Dr. Warren’s employer.

While Parrish was at Red River, Dr. Warren called Dr. Brooks, a staff physician, for consultation. Dr. Warren also began procedures to transfer Parrish to McCuistion Regional Medical Center. According to Dr. Brooks’ affidavit supporting his motion for summary judgment, he arrived at Red River at 12:20 a.m. and conducted an expedited examination. He found Parrish’s blood pressure low but stabilized. Parrish was receiving fluids. Dr. Brooks agreed that a transfer was proper, and he contends that Parrish was told about the transfer and agreed to it. Parrish was transferred from Red River at 12:30 a.m.

After the transfer, Parrish was seen by an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mark Nardone, for care of a fractured femur. Before surgery was begun, Parrish suffered respiratory arrest. He was resuscitated and taken into surgery, where a splenectomy was performed and liver lacerations were sewn and drained. Following surgery, Parrish went into shock and died about 6:00 p.m. on August 13, 1988. On October 24, 1990, his parents filed this suit.

II.

In reviewing the granting of summary judgment to a defendant, we determine whether the summary judgment evidence establishes that there is no genuine issue of fact and that the movant has conclusively negated one or more of the essential elements of the plaintiffs’ cause of action. Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970). In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue that precludes summary judgment, we take as true all evidence favoring the nonmovant and indulge every reasonable inference and resolve every doubt in favor of the non-movant. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management, 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985).

III.

The Parrishes allege that Red River was negligent in failing to write the diagnosis of their son’s condition on the transfer form and writing an incorrect reason for [525]*525his transfer; in failing to transfer available records; in failing to obtain an appropriate receiving physician; in transferring their son while he was unstable; in violating hospital policy and state law in making the transfer; and in allowing Dr. Warren to practice at the hospital while his staff membership was not established.

Many of Red River’s defenses are based on the Tort Claims Act, which applies to Red River Hospital Authority as a governmental unit. Tex. Civ.Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 101.001(2) (Vernon Supp.1993); Sharpe v. Memorial Hosp. of Galveston County, 743 S.W.2d 717 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1987, no writ). We reach only Red River’s defense based on Section 101.101 of the Tort Claims Act, which requires that a governmental unit be given written notice of a claim against it within six months of the incident underlying the claim. Tex.Civ.PRAc. & Rem.Code Ann. § 101.101(a) (Vernon 1986). The notice requirement is not applicable if the governmental unit has actual notice that death, injury, or property damage has occurred. Tex.Civ.Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 101.101(c) (Vernon 1986).

The Parrishes did not give Red River written notice of the claim until August 13, 1990, two years after the injuries, but they argue that Red River had actual notice by reason of its treatment and transfer of their son. They note that Dr. Brooks served on both the credential and executive committees at Red River at the time of the treatment and transfer. They also argue that the affidavit of Dr. Charles Millikan constitutes summary judgment proof that Red River had actual notice. Dr. Millikan, who has served on several committees at Red River, reviewed Charles Parrish’s emergency room records. However, Dr. Millikan’s affidavit states that he found nothing inappropriate in his review. Likewise, Dr. Brooks states in his affidavit that the proper standard of care was followed.

To constitute actual notice as an exception to Section 101.101(a), the governmental unit must have knowledge of the injury, its alleged or possible fault producing or contributing to the injury, and the identity of the persons injured. Rosales v. Brazoria County, 764 S.W.2d 342, 344 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 1989, no writ); Bourne v. Nueces County Hosp. Dist., 749 S.W.2d 630, 632 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1988, writ denied).

The summary judgment evidence here does not raise a fact issue that Red River had actual notice of any alleged or possible culpability on its part regarding Charles Parrish’s injuries or death. Rosales v. Brazoria County, 764 S.W.2d at 344; Bourne v. Nueces County Hosp. Dist., 749 S.W.2d at 632; see also Vela v. Cameron County, 703 S.W.2d 721, 725 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1985, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

The purpose of notice is to enable a governmental unit to investigate allegations against it while facts are fresh and conditions are substantially similar so it may guard against unfounded claims, settle claims, and prepare for trial. City of Houston v. Torres, 621 S.W.2d 588, 591 (Tex.1981). To hold that a hospital had actual notice under Section 101.101(a) merely because it knew a patient received treatment at its facility or died after receiving treatment would thwart the statute’s purpose and effectively render it meaningless. We agree with the Corpus Christi court, which said in Bourne v. Nueces County Hosp. Dist.:

A county hospital’s emergency room will inevitably receive many injured persons in the course of its operations. In treating these persons, medical personnel may determine the seriousness of the injuries and their cause. The hospital’s records will then reflect the determinations. However, unless the records indicate to the hospital its possible culpability in causing the injuries, the hospital has no way of knowing that it might be implicated in a subsequent suit.

749 S.W.2d at 632.

Whether a governmental unit has actual notice of a claim is a question of fact. Alvarado v. City of Lubbock, 685 S.W.2d 646 (Tex.1985). Yet summary judgment may be proper where no evidence of actual notice exists to raise a genuine issue [526]*526of fact. Vela v. Cameron County, 703 S.W.2d at 727. There is no summary judgment evidence that shows Red River received actual notice within the meaning of Section 101.101(a). The Parrishes rely on the affidavits of Drs.

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Bluebook (online)
856 S.W.2d 522, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1439, 1993 WL 158771, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parrish-v-brooks-texapp-1993.