Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Texas

Re: Negligence during delivery

I am very sorry to hear about the medical problems you have been having. The unfortunate news is that we live in Texas, a state that, due to our current governor, Rick Perry, and his predecessor, George Bush, is so pro-doctor and anti-patient, there is almost no such thing as medical malpractice anymore. You may know that our legislature, under great pressure from Gov. Perry and the medical lobby, passed Proposition 12 in 2004, and the voters of this state approved it. The practical effect of this legislation is to make it so unlikely that you can find a doctor who is willing to testify against another doctor (which is an essential part of a malpractice claim) that malpractice has virtually ceased to exist in Texas. In short, all medical malpractice cases in Texas require that you, the injured party, prove that the doctor was negligent and that it was this negligence that caused your injury. The case cannot be based upon your feelings, suspicions, or suppositions. It must be based on expert testimony from a doctor that your surgeon was negligent. Based upon the limited information you provided me, it is my opinion that it would probably be possible to establish negligence in your case. However, even after establishing negligence through the testimony of another doctor, I doubt your damages would be substantial enough to justify the high cost of pursuing litigation and paying for the expert witnesses you would need. (This is exactly what Bush and Perry wanted: to drive the cost of pursuing medical malpractice cases so high that no one could afford to pursue them.)

The statute of limitations requires that you settle your claim or file a lawsuit on your claim within two years of the date you knew or should have known of your doctor's negligence or your claim will be barred forever.