Court Opinion

ID: 9761850
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 01:57:01.649178+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:27.084230
License: Public Domain

*545O’CONNOR, Justice,
dissenting from and concurring to opinion on rehearing.
I disagree with the majority’s interpretation of Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat. art. 4590i, § 1.03(a)(3). I dissent from part III(B) and part IV(B) of the majority’s opinion; I concur in the rest of the opinion.
A claim against a physician or a “health care provider” must be filed within two years from the occurrence of the breach or tort. Article 4590i, § 1.03(a)(3) defines a health care provider as
any person, partnership, professional association, corporation, facility, or institution duly licensed or chartered by the State of Texas to provide health care as a registered nurse, hospital, dentist, podiatrist, pharmacist, or nursing home, or an officer, employee, or agent thereof acting in the course and scope of his employment.
Id. (emphasis added). To shorten the definition, a health care provider is a person or entity who is licensed or chartered in Texas as a: (1) a registered nurse, (2) hospital, (3) dentist, (4) podiatrist, (5) pharmacist, or (6) nursing home, or (7) an officer, employee, or agent thereof.
The majority’s position is that the legislature meant to say “such as” instead of “as a.” I confess I do not know what the legislature intended; I only know what the statute says. As an appellate court, we cannot re-write the statute to correct what we think is a legislative mistake.
The majority compares section 103(a)(3) to another section (not at issue in this case) and decides they conflict. The majority uses the conflict to justify its finding that the statute is ambiguous. The majority then says the ambiguity compels it “to seek guidance from the rest of article 459Qi.” From that vantage point, the majority re-writes the statute to satisfy its understanding of the legislature’s intent.
The legislature is presently in session. If the legislature meant to say “such as” instead of “as a,” the mistake can be corrected quickly. Until then, I would hold that § 1.03(a)(3) does not include an association of physicians in the definition of “health care provider,” as we did in our original opinion.