Emergency Care: Alleged Failure to Properly Evaluate Patient for Testicular Torsion Constitutes "Willful and Wanton" Deviation from Standard of Care, Texas Court Rules

​A Texas court of appeals reinstated a malpractice suit against a freestanding emergency care center and a physician, alleging failure to properly evaluate the plaintiff for testicular torsion, a "time sensitive" condition. The plaintiff claimed the alleged negligence resulted in his loss of the affected testicle. The appellate court concluded that the plaintiff provided sufficient evidence that the alleged negligence met Texas's legal standard for "willful and wanton" deviation from accepted standards of care (a threshold requirement for proceeding with a malpractice case against an emergency care provider).

The plaintiff went to the emergency care center for complaints documented by a nurse as "waxing and waning" flank and gas pain, which had started six hours prior to his arrival, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The plaintiff alleged that he also reported inner thigh...