BEAUMONT, Texas (Legal Newsline) - A Texas appeals court rejected a hospital’s claim a plaintiff expert was unqualified to support a lawsuit over a woman who gave birth to a preterm infant in the toilet, saying the obstetrician-turned-lawyer was still licensed to practice medicine and had the experience and training to offer opinions on the standard of care.
Myranda Carnahan sued Christus Health Southeast Texas after she went to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain in the second trimester of her pregnancy in 2017, the Dec. 3 decision by the Texas Ninth District Court of Appeals. Nurses noted there was a “foul smell” when they did a physical exam and were ordered to perform a variety of tests including urinalysis and a Complete Blood Count (CBC) to detect a bacterial infection.
But Carnahan was discharged the same day with a prescription for antibiotics and instructions about how to handle contractions.
The next day she returned to the hospital and was admitted and put on intravenous antibiotics. She got up to go to the bathroom and then triggered the emergency call light. The nurse who responded said she found Carnahan “on toilet with baby between legs, face-up above water – grasped baby and called for help.”
The baby had numerous complications and Carnahan and the baby’s father sued Christus for improper care. To deter frivolous medical malpractice suits, Texas law requires plaintiffs to submit an expert report within 120 days by a licensed physician practicing in the field that the lawsuit is based upon. The report must state the standard of care, how the defendants deviated from that standard of care, and how the deviation caused the plaintiff’s harm.
The plaintiffs hired Dr. James Wheeler, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who spent most of his career in the subspecialty of reproductive endocrinology, or assisting couples with pregnancy. He was an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine until 1996 and later obtained a nursing certificate as well as a law degree.
In his report, Dr. Wheeler said the nurses failed to adhere to standards of care because they failed to see Carnahan was in preterm labor with a serious infection. They should have admitted her immediately to receive hydration, bed rest, steroids and intravenous antibiotics, the expert said.
Christus sought to dismiss the case, arguing Dr. Wheeler ‘s report was “no report” because he had no training or experience to offer opinions on how nurses should treat preterm obstetrical patients in the hospital. While he is a licensed obstetrician, his primary practice is reproductive endocrinology and nothing in his record shows he treated women who went to the hospital in the second trimester with abdominal pain and then delivered a premature baby, the hospital said.
The appeals court disagreed, saying the trial court was well within its discretion to determine the doctor’s training and experience left him qualified to offer opinions on the woman’s care. The court also rejected the hospital’s argument the plaintiffs didn’t act in good faith to ensure their expert complied with the legal requirements.
The Texas Supreme Court has said the “purpose of evaluating expert reports is to deter frivolous claims, not to dispose of claims regardless of their merits,” the appeals court noted in its decision rejecting the hospital’s interlocutory appeal.