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Payne v. Galen Hospital Corp.8/24/2000
On Petition for Review from the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas
Argued on March 22, 2000
Justice O'Neill delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner injured her back while working as a hospital nurse and had a prescription filled to treat her injury at the hospital pharmacy, which provides medication only to hospital patients and employees who suffer on-the-job injuries. Petitioner suffered a severe and permanently disabling reaction to the medication, and she sued the hospital for negligence and gross negligence in filling her prescription. The parties agree that the full range of petitioner's injuries are compensable under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act, and that she has received and continues to receive full compensation benefits. We must decide whether petitioner is barred by the Act's exclusive-remedy provision from bringing common-law claims against the hospital based upon the pharmacy's alleged negligence. We hold that petitioner's reaction to the medication is a work-related injury for purposes of the exclusive-remedy provision and affirm the court of appeals' judgment.
I. Background
Janis Payne was employed as a registered nurse by Galen Hospital when she injured her back. Dr. Green, a physician not associated with the hospital, treated Payne and diagnosed her as having a lumbar strain. When her back pain began to interfere with her ability to work, Green prescribed Toradol, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that had been on the market for less than five months. The drug's package insert warned that it was not to be used for chronic pain and was only to be used for "a limited duration."
Payne filled her prescription for Toradol at the hospital pharmacy. The pharmacy is not open to the public, nor is it available to hospital employees in general; it dispenses drugs only to hospital patients and employees requiring medication for on-the-job injuries. As an employee injured on the job , Payne received her medication free of charge.
Payne took Toradol for four and one-half months. Because of this prolonged use, she suffered a severe reaction. She developed vasculitis, breathing problems, cataracts, peripheral-nerve damage, joint damage, and severe depression. She is totally and permanently disabled and will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Payne has received and continues to receive workers' compensation benefits for her back injury and for her Toradol reaction. All of her medical treatments for her back injury and for her Toradol reaction have been paid for by the hospital's workers' compensation carrier. She has also received payments for lost wages since she injured her back. As of September 1996, $534,802 had been paid to Payne's healthcare providers and $87,783 had been paid directly to Payne.
Payne sued the hospital, Dr. Green, and Toradol's manufacturer, alleging that their negligence and gross negligence caused her Toradol reaction. The hospital's workers' compensation carrier intervened to recover payments made under the workers' compensation policy. The hospital moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusive-remedy provision bars Payne's suit and, alternatively, that by accepting workers' compensation benefits Payne is estopped from proceeding with her common-law claims against the hospital. The trial court granted the hospital summary judgment and dismissed the workers' compensation carrier's claims against the hospital. The trial court then severed the claims against the hospital, leaving only the claims against Dr. Green and the drug manufacturer, which settled.
Payne appealed
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