HOUSTON - A Texas court of appeals has upheld a trial court's decision granted summary judgement to defendants in a health care liability case.
“The trial court granted appellees’ summary judgment motions and held that appellants’ claims were barred by the applicable two-year statute of limitations,” Justice William J. Boyce wrote in the court decision.
The court opinion was issued on Aug. 23 by the 14th Court of Appeals regarding a decision made by the 434th Judicial District Court Fort Bend County, Texas.
The lawsuit was filed after the death of Mary Ann Irwin, a patient at Atrium Medical Center. She fell on Nov. 16, 2011, and died on Jan. 6, 2012.
Her children, Gwendolyn Galloway, Mitchell Irwin and Clayton Irwin, filed a lawsuit in January 2014 claiming health care liabilities from her death. The defendants, Atrium Medical Center, Shahid Q. Mallick and Syed Zaidi, filed for summary judgment claiming the statute of limitations had run out.
The court denied the summary judgment. They then filed a Joint Motion for Reconsideration on Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment in June 2014, which was also denied. They filed a second joint motion for reconsideration on Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment in December 2016.
“Appellees’ second joint motion for reconsideration cited two cases issued after the trial court denied appellees’ first joint motion for reconsideration; appellees asserted these cases supported their argument that appellants’ authorization form did not toll the applicable limitations period,” Justice Boyce wrote in the decision.
The second motion was granted in March 2017. Appellants appealed.
“Appellants assert that the trial court erred in granting appellees’ motions for summary judgment because (1) the authorization form mailed with appellants’ pre-suit notice substantially complied with statutory requirements and tolled the applicable statute of limitations; and (2) the trial court had no basis to retroactively apply the additional cases cited in appellees’ second joint motion for reconsideration,” the court documents stated.
The Justices stated that “appellants’ authorization form did not toll the statute of limitations applicable to appellants’ health care liability claims.
“When appellants mailed to appellees the notice and authorization form in November 2013, at least three cases already had determined that failure to comply with 10 section 74.052’s medical authorization form requirements foreclosed tolling the statute of limitations.”