HOUSTON - The City of Houston failed to convince the 14th Court of Appeals that a car accident on the way home from a clinic visit constitutes a healthcare liability claim.
Juan Umana sued Houston after the city-owned van he was riding in was involved in a traffic accident while taking him home from a visit to a city-run medical clinic.
Court records show the city sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Umana’s allegations presented a health care liability claim, and the trial court was required to dismiss the claims because he failed to timely serve an expert report, a requirement under Chapter 74 of the Texas Medical Liability Act.
The trial court denied the motion and the city appealed, arguing the trial court erred.
On Dec. 4, the 14th Court affirmed the ruling, concluding that Umana’s allegations “concerning a simple car accident” did not present a health care liability claim under the TMLA.
“In this case, neither expert medical nor expert healthcare testimony will be necessary, or even relevant, to the issues of negligence presented,” the opinion states. “The record mandates the conclusion that Umana’s claim is not an HCLC. Accordingly, the trial court did not err in denying the City’s motion to dismiss, and we overrule the City’s sole appellate issue.”
“We affirm the trial court’s order denying the City’s motion to dismiss.”
In his petition, Umana alleged that he was a passenger in a city-owned vehicle being driven by a city employee when the employee turned in front of another vehicle causing a collision that seriously injured him.
Umana further alleged that the employee’s negligence was the proximate cause of the accident and his injuries and that the city was liable for the employee’s conduct under the doctrine of respondeat superior.
He is represented by attorneys Alan N. Magenheim and Eric T. Zehnder of Magenheim Zehnder, a Houston law firm.
Appeals case No. 14-24-00911-CV
