HOUSTON – The First Court of Appeals recently ordered the dismissal of a woman’s slip and fall lawsuit against The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The litigation was brought by Courtney Simpson, who claims that on Dec. 15, 2016, she was a visitor at MD Anderson when she slipped and fell “due to a wet and slippery floor.”
Court records show MD Anderson denied the allegations and asserted that the trial court lacks jurisdiction because it is entitled to full sovereign immunity and the Texas Tort Claims Act did not waive immunity.
On July 22, the First Court found that trial court erred in denying MD Anderson’s plea to the jurisdiction.
“Based on the record before us, we conclude that Simpson did not raise a fact issue regarding MD Anderson’s actual knowledge of the presence of the liquid on the floor on which Simpson slipped and fell,” the opinion states. “As a result, Simpson’s premise defect claim under the TTCA is barred by sovereign immunity.”
Appeals case No. 01-20-00679-CV