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TexasTowelie

(111,312 posts)
Wed Oct 22, 2014, 06:13 PM Oct 2014

Strict Texas Law Makes Ebola Lawsuits Unlikely

One of the unexpected lessons from the Ebola cases in Dallas may well be how thoroughly Texas protects hospitals—and their insurance companies—from answering for critical lapses in care.

When Thomas Eric Duncan entered the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital’s emergency room on Sept. 25 with a fever and complaining of stomach pain, there’s a chance that proper treatment might have saved him from the Ebola virus that would kill him 13 days later. Instead, the Liberian man was sent home with only painkillers and antibiotics. Duncan’s family and his fiancée are haunted by the question of whether Duncan might have survived had he been properly diagnosed. Executives at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital have admitted to mistakes and apologized to Duncan’s family.

But should Duncan’s family members seek more than an apology, and ask the courts to hold the hospital accountable for its missteps, they won’t find much recourse under Texas law. Neither will the nurses who contracted Ebola while treating Duncan, apparently for a time without sufficient safety gear, nor will anyone who might have contracted the virus from them later.

Thanks to a number of Texas court decisions and laws—including a sweeping 2003 Republican-led tort reform effort—lawyers say it’s unlikely that Presbyterian faces serious legal risk from the Ebola cases or others like them. Even if the hospital were found liable in court, the damages would be limited. Without the threat of expensive litigation, critics of tort reform argue, hospitals face little consequence for turning away sick, uninsured patients, even ones with Ebola.

Read more: http://www.texasobserver.org/ebola-dallas-tort-reform/

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Strict Texas Law Makes Ebola Lawsuits Unlikely (Original Post) TexasTowelie Oct 2014 OP
Thank Abbott for Tort reform. Downwinder Oct 2014 #1
And they gotta sue within 30 days AND find an attorney who will take the case LeftInTX Oct 2014 #2

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
2. And they gotta sue within 30 days AND find an attorney who will take the case
Thu Oct 23, 2014, 03:31 AM
Oct 2014

Although I don't think Duncan's family will have difficulty finding an attorney. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like that is where Louise Trohs thoughts are at the moment. I would hope an advocate will approach them on this....

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