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Case Summaries

Injury & Tort Law

[07/23] Poliner v. Texas Health Sys.
In a defamation action by a physician against a hospital which suspended his clinical privileges for offering susbstandard patient care, judgment for plaintiff is reversed where peer reviewers who imposed temporary privilege restrictions during a review of plaintiff's patient care history were entitled to immunity under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) because they: 1) held an objectively reasonable belief that their actions were in furtherance of quality health care; 2) made a reasonable effort to obtain the necessary facts; 3) followed the notice and hearing procedures required by HCQIA; and 4) acted reasonably based upon the facts obtained.

[07/23] Howard v. Waide
In a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 action against several state correctional department employees alleging deliberate indifference in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights, dismissal and summary judgment rulings against plaintiff are affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) a grievance officer's motion to dismiss was properly granted; but 2) plaintiff proffered adequate evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact regarding defendants-correctional officers' subjective knowledge of a significant risk of substantial harm; and 3) plaintiff exhausted his administrative remedies on some, but not all, of his claims.

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