FORT WORTH - The Second Court of Appeals has affirmed that an expert report is adequate in a health care liability alleging an assisted living center failed to prevent a woman’s alcoholic intoxication and subsequent death.
Andrea Wood and Jamie Jackson filed suit against Sagora Senior Living and Waterview The Cove Assisted Living and Memory for negligence and wrongful death, serving the defendants with an expert report – a requirement under Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Code.
The plaintiffs sued over the death of their mother, Carla Strasner, who was living at the defendants’ assisted-living facilities at the time of her death.
According to the Second Court’s opinion, Strasner, a 59-year-old woman with a medical history of traumatic brain injury, had been prescribed prescription medications with warnings against alcohol use.
“During her residence in the assisted-living facility, Strasner was provided with and consumed copious amounts of alcohol,” the opinion states.
A nurse discovered Strasner facedown and unconscious in her apartment at the assisted-living facility. Emergency medical services arrived and resuscitated Strasner before transporting her to Lake Granbury Medical Center. Her ethyl alcohol level was 119 mg.
“Later that evening, Strasner was transported to Texas Harris Health in Fort Worth where she died two days later,” the opinion states. “Her immediate cause of death was aspiration pneumonia, and her ‘sequential underlying cause of death’ was alcohol intoxication.”
The plaintiffs’ expert report concluded the defendants failed to provide adequate supervision for Strasner and prevent her alcoholic intoxication, likely causing her death.
Court records show the defendants objected to the report and moved to dismiss. After giving the plaintiffs time to cure the deficiencies in the report, the trial court overruled the defendants’ objections.
On appeal, the defendants challenged the adequacy of the report and supplemental report and the trial court’s failure to award them attorney’s fees.
The Second Court concluded that the trial court acted within its discretion, affirming the ruling.
Appeals case No. 02-25-00150-CV
