• 14
  • July
    2011

The Texas Supreme Court recently decided that state medical malpractice law encompasses a nursing home's failure to prevent fatal spider bites of residents in their facility. That decision arose from a suit in which the sister of a deceased Texas woman filed a suit against the nursing home where her sister died as a result of a brown recluse bite.

As far as can be told from sources, the woman had been bitten by a brown recluse spider at a nursing home connected to the Omaha Health Care Center. The woman's sister then sued the nursing home for negligence, alleging that the nursing home failed to inspect her sister's room for pests or failed to clean the area to remove any pests.

At the lower court level, the Sixth District appellate court affirmed the District Court's decision to uphold the woman's claim. In District court, the nursing home had attempted to have the suit dismissed on the grounds that, since the fatality was connected to services provided by the nursing home, the woman was alleging medical malpractice, and had extra evidential burdens to carry.

On appeal, the Supreme Court sided with the nursing home in saying that the woman was alleging medical malpractice rather than ordinary negligence and rejected her case since she failed to provide an expert report regarding the incident, a requirement for medical malpractice claims.

In its decision, the court said that Texas law requires nursing homes to provide a safe, sanitary, and comfortable place for residents, in addition to the other care and treatment they receive. Pest control is part of that requirement.

According to the high court, since she alleged that the nursing home failed to do what an ordinary, prudent nursing home would do, her claim fell under the statutory definition of a health care liability claim.

While it seems silly to the layman to see the woman's claim was rejected because of a seeming technicality, such distinctions make a difference in terms of the court of law.

Source: SE Texas Record, "Fatal spider bite at nursing home covered by malpractice law, high court decides," Steve Korris, 6 July 2011.