Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.154 – Jury Instructions in Cases Involving Emergency Medical Care
(a) In an action for damages that involves a claim of negligence arising from the provision of emergency medical care in a hospital emergency department or obstetrical unit or in a surgical suite immediately following the evaluation or treatment of a patient in a hospital emergency department, the court shall instruct the jury to consider, together with all other relevant matters:
(1) whether the person providing care did or did not have the patient’s medical history or was able or unable to obtain a full medical history, including the knowledge of preexisting medical conditions, allergies, and medications;
(2) the presence or lack of a preexisting physician-patient relationship or health care provider-patient relationship;
(3) the circumstances constituting the emergency; and
(4) the circumstances surrounding the delivery of the emergency medical care.
(b) The provisions of Subsection (a) do not apply to medical care or treatment:
(1) that occurs after the patient is stabilized and is capable of receiving medical treatment as a nonemergency patient;
(2) that is unrelated to the original medical emergency; or
(3) that is related to an emergency caused in whole or in part by the negligence of the defendant.
Terms Used In Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.154
- Court: means any federal or state court. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Emergency medical care: means bona fide emergency services provided after the sudden onset of a medical or traumatic condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain, such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the patient's health in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
- Health care: means any act or treatment performed or furnished, or that should have been performed or furnished, by any health care provider for, to, or on behalf of a patient during the patient's medical care, treatment, or confinement. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
- Hospital: means a licensed public or private institution as defined in Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or licensed under Chapter 577, Health and Safety Code. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
- Medical care: means any act defined as practicing medicine under § 151. See Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 74.001
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005