 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
University of Texas Health Science Center v. Schroeder12/8/2005
st.] 1999, pet. ref'd) (referencing Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. ยง 101.021(2)).
Here, the gravamen of Schroeder's complaints amount to negligent supervision. In her second amended petition, Schroeder asserted claims for medical malpractice under the TTCA. Specifically, she alleged that "Defendants' recommendation to undergo a full mouth reconstructive course of care was not reasonable." She asserted that "defendant used tangible personal property belonging to the State to accomplish the crowning." She further asserted that,
The persons who committed the acts complained of herein are 1) Silverman because he approved of the treatment plan and was the supervising faculty member responsible for the creation and implementation of Plaintiff's treatment plan and 2) Nick Tsoukalas because he devised and implemented the treatment plan.
She further asserted that UT is liable because
Plaintiff's claim involves: 1) personal injury caused by the negligence and negligent supervision of an employee acting within his scope of employment, 2) the personal injury was caused by a condition or use of tangible personal property and 3) the governmental unit, were it a private person, would be liable to Plaintiff according to Texas law.
Moreover, in her response to UT's plea to the jurisdiction, Schroeder admitted that her "claim is predicated on the actions, supervision and legal responsibility of a State paid employee. Indeed, when push comes to shove, Tsoukalas was merely an agent appointed by UT, supervised by its paid employee, to perform dental services for which UT received payment."
Claims of negligent supervision by UT or the supervising doctor are not actionable against UT because negligent supervision claims do not constitute a premise defect or the condition or use of property claim, and thus the Act does not waive sovereign immunity for such claims. See Bishop, 156 S.W.3d at 583; Atwood, 2004 WL 2823135, at *3--4; Texas Dep't of Public Safety v. Petta, 44 S.W.3d 575, 581 (Tex.2001).
Because we conclude that Dr. Tsoukalas was not a paid employee of UT and that Schroeder's claims of negligent supervision do not waive UT's immunity, we hold that UT's immunity has not been waived. Accordingly, the trial court abused its discretion when it denied UT's plea to the jurisdiction.
We sustain UT's second issue on appeal.
Because we sustain UT's first and second issues on appeal, we need not address UT's third issue on appeal, which asserts that the trial court erred in granting UT's plea to the jurisdiction because Schroeder did not allege or show that the injuries complained of were caused by the negligent use of tangible personal property. See Tex. R. App. P. 47.1.
Conclusion
Schroeder's petition does not allege a cause of action that falls within any of the three categories in which the TTCA waives the sovereign immunity afforded to UT. The trial court, therefore, erred in denying UT's plea to the jurisdiction. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and render judgment dismissing Schroeder's suit against UT for want of jurisdiction.
Panel consists of Justices Taft, Keyes, and Hanks.
Page 1 2 3 4 Texas Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|