Texas High Court Upholds Dismissal of Lawsuit Accusing Hospital of Negligently Causing Loss of Business Due to Potential Virus Transmission

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that a corporate store owner’s negligence claim against a hospital for causing loss of business due to a potential virus transmission constitutes a “health care liability claim” that must be supported by an expert report.

In a Feb. 21 opinion, the high court found the claim falls under the Texas Medical Liability Act because the allegations related to caring for and treating a patient with a communicable disease.”

In September 2014, the Dallas Presbyterian Hospital cared for a patient who was infected with the Ebola virus. A nurse who attended the …