Springer v. Johnson

280 S.W.3d 322, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 4127, 2008 WL 2346385
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 4, 2008
DocketNo. 07-07-0424-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 280 S.W.3d 322 (Springer v. Johnson) 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
Springer v. Johnson, 280 S.W.3d 322, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 4127, 2008 WL 2346385 (Tex. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

OPINION

PATRICK A. PIRTLE, Justice.

This appeal involves the statutory construction of the term “physician” as used in Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, specifically § 74.351(r)(5)(C), as it pertains to the qualifications of an “expert” for purposes of an expert report on the issue of the causal relationship between the injury, harm, or damages claimed and the alleged departure from the applicable standard of care in a health care liability claim. Appellants, William Eugene Springer, M.D., Lubbock Heart Hospital, Cardiologists of Lubbock, P.A., Joseph A. Rizzo, M.D., and Roberto E. Solis, M.D. (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Medical Group), contend the term “physician” means an individual licensed to practice medicine in this state, as defined by § 74.001(a)(23)2 (emphasis added). Medical Group appeals from an order denying their objections to the sufficiency of the expert report served by Ap-pellee, Joyce Johnson, in support of her medical malpractice suit. Medical Group [325]*325contends the trial court erred in denying their objections because: (1) Johnson’s expert report failed to demonstrate that its author was qualified to provide an opinion on the issue of causation because he is not licensed to practice medicine in Texas and (2) the report addressed the applicable standard of care, purported breaches, and causation in a conclusory manner. We affirm.

Background

In October 2004, Johnson was admitted to the Lubbock Heart Hospital where she underwent cardiac surgery to replace a defective heart valve with a mechanical one. Prior to surgery her attending physicians discontinued her anticoagulant therapy. During her hospital stay, Johnson alleges her physicians and health care provider neither restarted her therapy nor properly monitored her condition. Three days later, after her surgery was completed, she was discharged and allegedly received no prescription or instructions to resume her anticoagulant therapy. At her post-discharge appointment at Dr. Springer’s office, her staples were removed; however, she did not see a doctor, and her therapy was not resumed. On November 16, 2004, Johnson suffered a stroke.

Johnson filed a medical malpractice action against Medical Group alleging they failed to properly monitor her condition, coordinate her care, and/or resume her anticoagulant therapy thereby causing her stroke. Medical Group responded with general denials and Johnson timely served her expert report in accordance with § 74.351(a). Thereafter, Medical Group filed objections to the sufficiency of her expert report and moved for dismissal pursuant to § 74.351(b). The trial court denied their objections whereupon they filed this interlocutory appeal.

Discussion

Medical Group contends that an “expert” for purposes of an expert report on the issue of the causal relationship between the injury, harm, or damages claimed and the alleged departure from the applicable standard of care in a health care liability claim is a “physician” as defined by § 74.001(a)(23), which by definition would only include an individual licensed to practice medicine in this state. Medical Group asserts Dr. Neal Shadoff, the author of Johnson’s expert report, is unqualified to issue an opinion on causation because he is not licensed to practice medicine in Texas. Shadoff is licensed to practice medicine in New Mexico, Colorado, and North Carolina. Certain members of Medical Group3 next assert Johnson’s report is deficient because the report explains their standard of care, purported breaches, and causation in a conclusory fashion by ascribing an identical standard of care to three physicians (Rizzo, Solis, and Springer), treating them collectively in describing the breach and failing to address causation.

I. Interlocutory Appeal

Appellate courts have jurisdiction to consider immediate appeals of interlocutory orders only if a statute explicitly provides appellate jurisdiction. Stary v. DeBord, 967 S.W.2d 352, 352-53 (Tex.1998); In re Estate of Hersey, 223 S.W.3d 457, 459 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2006, no pet.). Section 51.014(a)(9) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code authorizes an appeal from an interlocutory order issued by a district court denying a motion asserting that a timely filed expert report is defi-[326]*326dent under § 74.351(b). Accordingly, we have jurisdiction to consider this appeal. See Lewis v. Funderburk, 51 Tex. Sup.Ct. J. 747, 2008 WL 1147188, *2 (Tex. Apr. 11, 2008); Wells v. Ashmore, 202 S.W.3d 465, 467 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2006, no pet.).

II. Statutory Construction

Statutory construction is a question of law for the court, City of Lubbock v. Adams, 149 S.W.3d 820, 826-27 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2004, pet. denied), which we review de novo. Texas Dep’t of Transp. v. Needham, 82 S.W.3d 314, 318 (Tex.2002); Oak Park, Inc. v. Harrison, 206 S.W.3d 133, 137 (Tex.App.-Eastland 2006, no pet.). Our primary objective when construing a statute is to ascertain and give effect to the Legislature’s intent. Texas Dept. of Protective and Regulatory Services v. Mega Child Care, 145 S.W.3d 170, 176 (Tex.2004); Texas Dept. of Public Safety v. Goers, 153 S.W.3d 632, 633 (Tex.App.Amarillo 2004, no pet.).

To discern the Legislature’s intent, we begin with the plain and common meaning of the statute’s words. Texas Dept. of Transp. v. City of Sunset Valley, 146 S.W.3d 637, 642 (Tex.2004). If a statute uses a term with a particular meaning or assigns a particular meaning to a term, we are bound by the statutory usage. Needham, 82 S.W.3d at 318. If the statutory language is unambiguous, we must adopt the interpretation supported by its plain language unless such an interpretation would lead to absurd results. Mega Child Care, 145 S.W.3d at 177. We must also consider the statute as a whole rather than its isolated provisions, City of Sunset Valley, 146 S.W.3d at 643; City of Canyon v. Fehr, 121 S.W.3d 899, 905 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2003, no pet.), and “not give one provision a meaning out of harmony or inconsistent with other provisions, although it might be susceptible to such a construction standing alone.” Helena Chemical Co. v. Wilkins, 47 S.W.3d 486, 493 (Tex.2001).

Although a statute is not ambiguous on its face, we may also “consider other matters in ascertaining the Legislature’s intent, including the objective of the law, the legislative history, and the consequences of a particular construction.” McIntyre v. Ramirez, 109 S.W.3d 741, 745 (Tex.2003) (citing Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 311.023(1), (3), (5)).

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Bluebook (online)
280 S.W.3d 322, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 4127, 2008 WL 2346385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/springer-v-johnson-texapp-2008.