Texas Justices Return Vicarious Liability Claim to Trial Court

A Texas nonprofit health organization will get a second chance to avoid vicarious liability for an employee’s alleged negligence while performing brain surgery, the state’s top court said.

A 1999 state law that prohibits NPHOs from controlling their physicians’ medical judgment doesn’t automatically excuse an organization from liability for an employee’s on-the-job negligence, but it limits their potential liability to situations where they can prove the physician acted independently, the Texas Supreme Court said May 23.

Hospitals and other such organizations traditionally were prohibited from employing physicians in Texas because control is the key factor in an employment relationship. Physicians ...