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Maldonado v. Frio Hospital Association6/21/2000
Opinion by:Catherine Stone, Justice
AFFIRMED
Sonia Maldonado and Zap Velasquez ("Appellants") contest the trial court's grant of a summary judgment in favor of Frio Hospital Association ("Association.") Because we hold the Association established official immunity as a matter of law, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Factual and Procedural Background
On April 3, 1995, appellant Sonia Maldonado entered Frio Hospital in the early stages of labor. Around five o'clock in the morning, a doctor examined Maldonado and placed her on a pitocin drip to encourage labor. An hour later, a nurse observed very little progress in Maldonado's condition. Another nurse then secured a fetal heart monitor to Maldonado set at one centimeter per minute. Maldonado's baby, Zap Anthony, was delivered shortly after midnight on April 4, 1995. Appellants allege that as a result of negligence in fetal monitoring by nurses and other personnel employed by the Association, Maldonado's labor was prolonged, causing her son to suffer from severe brain damage and chronic seizures. Specifically, appellants complain the Association, through its employees, failed to properly calibrate the fetal heart monitor, operate the monitor, or formulate appropriate standards of use. The Association moved for summary judgment under the Texas Tort Claims Act ("TTCA") on the grounds of official immunity. The trial court granted a general summary judgment in favor of the Association, from which appellants now appeal.
Standard of Review
We review summary judgments de novo. Sasser v. Danex Oil & Gas, Inc., 906 S.W.2d 599, 602 (Tex. App.-San Antonio 1995, writ denied). To prevail on summary judgment, the movant must show there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c). When a defendant moves for summary judgment on an affirmative defense, like immunity, the defendant must conclusively prove each element of the defense as a matter of law. City of Lancaster v. Chambers, 883 S.W.2d 650, 653 (Tex. 1994). If the defendant meets this burden, the plaintiff must then produce evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact to avoid the affirmative defense. Gonzalez v. City of Harlingen, 814 S.W.2d 109, 112 (Tex. App. -Corpus Christi 1991, writ denied). In reviewing a summary judgment, an appellate court accepts as true all evidence supporting the non-movant. Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 549 (Tex. 1985). All inferences are indulged in favor of the non-movant, and all doubts are resolved in his favor. Id.
Hospital District Management Contractor
Appellants' first issue, and the crux of this appeal, revolves around interpretation of the Hospital District Management Contractor statute, which allows certain rural districts to hire independent, nonprofit entities to manage the hospitals. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. ยง 285.071 (Vernon 1992). On January 1, 1990, the Association signed a fifteen-year management contract with the Frio Hospital District to manage Frio Hospital. No dispute exists between the parties about whether the Association meets the statutory classification of a hospital district management contractor. Rather, the dispute concerns the extent of the Association's liability. The Health and Safety Code provides:
A hospital district management contractor and any employee of the contractor are, while performing services under the contract for the benefit of the hospital, employees of the hospital district for the purposes of Chapters 101 and 102, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann
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