Galvan v. Mem’l Hermann Hosp. Sys.
No. 14-0410
Case Summary written by David Miles, Staff Member.
Sylvia Galvan was visiting a relative at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital when she slipped and fell on water on the floor. Galvan sued the hospital, alleging that the hospital was negligent in not cleaning up the water or providing a warning sign. She slipped while walking from the pharmacy to her relative’s room.
The hospital filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that Galvan’s claim should have been brought as a health care liability claim (HCLC), and that she failed to provide an expert report as required by the Texas Medical Liability Act. The trial court denied the hospital’s motion, but the court of appeals reversed, holding that “because Galvan’s claim was based on an alleged departure from accepted standards of safety, it was an HCLC.”
The Supreme Court of Texas, however, reversed. The Court rejected the contention that the hospital’s failure to clean up water from a bathroom was covered by federal regulations requiring certain standards, such as “providing a sanitary environment and having an active program for preventing, controlling, and investigating infections and communicable diseases.” The Court found that the record did not show that the spill in question implicated infection-control standards.
Additionally, the Court rejected the argument that health and safety standards were implicated because the Texas Board of Health requires hospitals to use microfiber mops rather than conventional wet loop mops. The Court could not find a substantive relationship between that requirement and Galvan’s claim.
The Court held that, given all the facts in the record, “no substantive nexus is shown to exist between the safety standards Galva alleges the hospital violated and the provision of health care.”