Апелляционный суд Техаса отклонил иск двух рентгенологов о компенсации за радиационное облучение

A Texas appeals court ruled Tuesday that two radiologists’ claims alleging a hospital negligently exposed them to radiation were health care liability claims and must be dismissed because they failed to timely provide an adequate expert report. In Shannon Medical Center v. Michael Sickels and James Christopher Cole, the Texas 15th Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s denial of Shannon Medical Center’s motion to dismiss and rendered judgment dismissing the radiologists’ claims. Drs. Michael Sickels and James Christopher Cole worked as radiologists at Shannon for two decades and were later diagnosed with skin cancer, requiring multiple invasive surgical procedures. They sued Shannon for negligence, negligence per se and gross negligence, alleging the hospital failed to properly monitor, warn about, report, control and restrict excessive radiation exposure. They also alleged Shannon failed to provide proper radiation monitoring devices and appropriate protective equipment and clothing. Shannon sought dismissal, arguing the allegations constituted health care liability claims under the Texas Medical Liability Act and that the doctors failed to provide the required expert report within 120 days after the hospital filed its answer. The appeals court agreed, finding a substantive nexus between the alleged radiation safety violations and the provision of health care. The doctors alleged their exposure occurred through radiation-emitting machines while they were providing health care to patients, the court said. The court also rejected the doctors’ argument that their claims qualified for an exception covering employees who sue employers that do not subscribe to workers compensation insurance. Although it was undisputed that Shannon did not subscribe to workers comp insurance, the court held the radiologists failed to establish they were Shannon employees. Their employment agreements identified Shannon Clinic as their employer, and evidence that Shannon provided equipment and set their schedules was insufficient to establish the required right of control. The radiologists provided thousands of pages of medical records, bills and doctors’ reports, but the court said the materials did not constitute an adequate expert report because they did not identify applicable standards of care, explain how Shannon breached those standards or establish a causal relationship between a breach and their injuries.