Strom v. Memorial Hermann Hospital System

110 S.W.3d 216, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 4586, 2003 WL 21233555
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 29, 2003
Docket01-01-00756-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by111 cases

This text of 110 S.W.3d 216 (Strom v. Memorial Hermann Hospital System) 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
Strom v. Memorial Hermann Hospital System, 110 S.W.3d 216, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 4586, 2003 WL 21233555 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinions

[219]*219OPINION

TIM TAFT, Justice.

Appellant, Florence M. Strom, filed health-care liability claims against appel-lees, Memorial Hermann Hospital System d/b/a Memorial Hospital Southwest and Memorial Hospital System (the hospital) and Dr. Henry Blum, individually and d/b/a Sugar Land Orthopedic Associates (Dr. Blum). Strom appeals to challenge orders that dismissed those claims, with prejudice, on the grounds that the expert reports she provided to support those claims under section 13.01(d) of article 4590i, the Medial Liability and Insurance Improvement Act, did not comply with section 13.01(r)(6) of that statute.1 We address (1) whether Strom’s expert reports constituted a fair summary of the standard of care required by Dr. Blum and the Hospital, (2) whether the trial court erred by refusing to grant Strom an extension of time to amend her expert reports, (3) whether Dr. Blum waived his challenge to the adequacy of Strom’s expert reports by not asserting the challenge until 180 days after Strom filed suit, (4) whether the trial court erred in awarding $5,000 in attorney’s fees to the hospital, (5) the constitutionality of article 4590i, section 13.01(d), and (6) whether the trial court erred in dismissing Strom’s claims of fraud, intentional and fraudulent misrepresentations, and “unnecessary surgery” against Dr. Blum. We affirm.

Background

Strom sued the hospital claiming that hospital surgical nursing staff improperly positioned her in preparation for neck surgery performed at the hospital October 4, 1996, and caused injury to her left knee. Strom also sued Dr. Blum, an orthopedic surgeon who later treated the left knee and performed a total knee replacement, claiming he was negligent and grossly negligent because the surgery was unnecessary. Strom sued the hospital in October 1998 and sued Dr. Blum a year later.

On April 25, 2001, the hospital moved the trial court to either dismiss Strom’s case against the hospital or require her to file a cost bond, on the grounds she had missed the 90-day and the 180-day requirements of article 4590i, section 13.01 by not filing expert reports in compliance with that statute. See TexRev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(a), (d), (e)(3) (Vernon Supp.2003). With respect to the 180-day requirement, the hospital acknowledged that Strom had provided expert reports in attempted compliance with section 13.01(d),2 but argued that the reports were “insufficient as a matter of law” under section 13.01(r)(6) because they did not provide a “fair summary” of the applicable standard of care, how it was breached, or the causal relationship between the alleged breach and Strom’s injuries, as required by that section. See TexRev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(d), (r)(6) (Vernon Supp.2003). The hospital also requested attorney’s fees, as authorized by section 13.01(e)(1). See TexRev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(e)(1) (Vernon Supp. 2003). After conducting a hearing on May 14, 2001, the trial court dismissed Strom’s claims against the hospital, with prejudice, and awarded the hospital $5,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.

[220]*220Four days later, on May 18, 2001, Dr. Blum filed a similar motion to dismiss. The trial court granted this motion and dismissed Strom’s claims against Dr. Blum in an order signed on August 18, 2001. This order recites that the trial court considered Strom’s counsel’s sworn testimony, and also reflects the trial court’s findings and conclusions in granting relief.

Standard of Review

The abuse-of-discretion standard governs all article 4590i, section 13.01 rulings. American Transitional Care Ctrs. v. Palacios, 46 S.W.3d 873, 877 (Tex.2001); De Leon v. Vela, 70 S.W.3d 194, 197 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2001, pet. denied). This standard inquires whether the trial court acted without reference to any guiding rules or principles. Garcia v. Martinez, 988 S.W.2d 219, 222 (Tex.1999); Mueller v. Beamalloy, Inc., 994 S.W.2d 855, 858 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist] 1999, no pet.). We may not reverse a discretionary decision simply because we might have reached a different one. Mueller, 994 S.W.2d at 858. When resolving factual issues or matters committed to the trial court’s discretion, we may not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 839 (Tex.1992).

Dismissals with prejudice for lack of compliance with section 13.01 of article 4590i are sanctions. See Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(e) (Vernon Supp. 2003) (“... [T]he court shall, on the motion of the affected physician or health care provider, enter an order awarding as sanctions....”); Palacios, 46 S.W.3d at 877. In contrast to findings entered in support of a judgment after a bench trial under rule 296 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, findings entered in support of a sane1 tion dismissing a cause, as entered here in the order granting Dr. Blum’s motion, are not binding on the reviewing court, although they are “helpful” in determining whether the trial court exercised its discretion in a reasonable and principled manner. See IKB Indus., Ltd. v. Pro-Line Corp., 938 S.W.2d 440, 442 (Tex.1997) (appeal from dismissal as a sanction); Chrysler Corp. v. Blackmon, 841 S.W.2d 844, 852 (Tex.1992) (mandamus review of dismissal as a sanction).

Dismissals with Prejudice for Insufficient Reports

Strom’s first four points of error challenge dismissal of her claims against Dr. Blum as an abuse of discretion. In points of error five through seven, Strom challenges the dismissal against the hospital on the same grounds.

All health-care liability claims must comply with section 13.01(d) of article 4590L Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(d) (Vernon Supp.2003). Section 13.01(d) requires that a plaintiff asserting a health-care liability claim must, not later than 180 days after filing suit, either: (1) furnish an expert report, with supporting curriculum vitae, to counsel for each defending physician or health-care provider; or (2) voluntarily nonsuit the claim. Tex. Rev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(d) (Vernon Supp.2003). Article 4590i defines “expert report” as a written report that:

provides a fair summary of the expert’s opinions as of the date of the report regarding applicable standards of care, the manner in which the care rendered by the physician or health care provider failed to meet the standards, and the causal relationship between that failure and the injury, harm, or damages claimed.

Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 4590i, § 13.01(r)(6) (Vernon Supp.2003).

Section 13.01 acknowledges that medical-malpractice eases require expert testi[221]*221mony and the statute was enacted to curtail frivolous lawsuits. See Palacios, 46 S.W.3d at 877; Hart v. Wright,

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Bluebook (online)
110 S.W.3d 216, 2003 Tex. App. LEXIS 4586, 2003 WL 21233555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strom-v-memorial-hermann-hospital-system-texapp-2003.