In the Courts: Plaintiff’s Expert Report on Sexual Assault Satisfied Statutory Requirements, Court Finds

In a case in which a nursing home resident was allegedly sexually assaulted by another resident, the Texas Court of Appeals, third district, has found that the expert report that the plaintiff had submitted satisfied applicable requirements outlined in the state's Medical Liability Act. In so finding, the appeals court upheld the district court's denial of the defendant's motion to dismiss the claim.

According to a statement submitted by the plaintiff's daughter, the nursing home held "alcohol parties" on Friday afternoons, and a male resident would "inappropriately touch or speak to" the resident at these parties. The daughter said she warned staff that other residents had made "inappropriate advances" toward her mother. When the daughter visited her mother one Saturday morning, she observed "signs of a struggle" in her mother's room and bloody rags in the garbage. Her mother, who had dementia, was "more confused than usual and crying," and she seemed to be in pain. Examination at the emergency department confirmed...