Court requires evidence that credentialing caused malpractice

A Texas appeals court recently found that a plastic surgery patient, who brought a negligent credentialing suit against a hospital following injury, failed to satisfy a state law that required her to submit expert reports to support her healthcare liability claim. The patient provided an expert report that concluded that the hospital breached the standard of care in credentialing and permitting a physician to perform plastic surgery at its facility. However, the trial court dismissed the claims against the hospital because the expert report didn't show that the hospital's credentialing caused her injuries.

The appeals court found the patient's expert report contained the expert's conclusions about negligent credentialing but didn't provide facts to demonstrate that the hospital's negligence was a cause of patient's injuries and therefore dismissed the claims against the hospital.

[Rose v. Garland Community Hospital, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 5815, No. 05-01-01813-CV (Ct. App. Tex. 5^th Dist 7/27/05).]