Hampton v. University of Texas – M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 6 S.W.3d 627 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, no writ)

Mr. Briscoe represented the survivors and representative of the estate of a deceased patient in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a state university hospital. The trial court granted the hospital’s plea to the jurisdiction based on sovereign immunity. Mr. Briscoe successfully appealed the trial court’s ruling before the First Court of Appeals which reversed the decision of the trial court and held that, although a state university hospital is generally immune from tort liability, the Hamptons’ claim successfully alleged a cause of action that fell within the immunity waiver provisions of the Texas Tort Claims Act.

Consequently, the First Court of Appeals remanded the cause to the trial court for further proceedings, and the parties successfully mediated a settlement.