holding that mother could recover mental anguish damages arising from loss of fetus when doctor’s negligence during delivery resulted in stillborn baby
How later courts described this case
- holding that mother could recover mental anguish damages arising from loss of fetus when doctor’s negligence during delivery resulted in stillborn baby
- holding municipal hospital authority created by city ordinance pursuant to Chapter 262 is a "unit of local government,” separate from municipality and subject to lower liability cap than municipality under Texas Tort Claims Act
- declining, based on “policy concerns” to allow NIED claims based upon medical negligence because “[a] bystander may not be able to distinguish between medical treatment that helps the patient and conduct that is harmful”
- holding that “Texas’[s] bystander cause of action precludes bystander recovery in medical malpractice cases”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
ABBOTT, Justice,
concurring.
I join Parts I, III, and IV of the Court’s opinion. I also join Justice Hecht’s concurring opinion holding that the Edinburg Hospital Authority is a unit of local government subject to the liability limits imposed by section 101.023(b) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. I do not join Part II of the Court’s opinion. Instead, for the reasons articulated in Part I of Justice Gonzalez’s dissenting opinion in this case and in Justice Kilgarlin’s dissent in Witty v. American Gen. Capital Distribs., Inc., 727 S.W.2d 503, 506 (Tex.1987), I would be inclined to overrule Witty and allow recovery for the wrongful death of a fetus. However, the Trevifios have not made any argument to this Court that Witty should be overruled. Accordingly, based on the arguments presented to us by the parties, I concur in the Court’s judgment as to Part II.