Court Opinion

ID: 9667786
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:55:02.155844+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:40.858755
License: Public Domain

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
NYE, Chief Justice.
By their first and second points of error on rehearing, appellees assert that this Court applied an incorrect standard of review. They correctly point out that in Morrison v. Chan, 699 S.W.2d 205 (Tex.1985), the Supreme Court held that the legislature had abrogated the “discovery rule” in cases governed by the Medical Liability and Insurance Improvement Act. Tex.Rev.Civ. Stat.Ann. art. 4590i, § 10.01 (Vernon Supp. 1987). As we noted in Wun-Yi Tsai v. Wells, 725 S.W.2d 271, 273 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.), whether or not a patient “knew or should have known” of his injury no longer prevents the two-year limitations period from running; rather, the only relevant inquiry is whether the statute is constitutional as applied, under the open courts provision of the Texas Constitution, by enabling the patient to have a reasonable opportunity to discover the wrong within the two-year period. Morrison, 699 S.W.2d at 208; Nelson v. Krusen, 678 S.W.2d 918, 923 (Tex.1984); Wun-Yi Tsai v. Wells, 725 S.W.2d 271, 273 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
Our opinion on original submission correctly applied the “reasonable opportunity to discover” test. However, we inadvertently used the term “knew or should have known” several times. The two terms have very technical meanings and should not be interchanged. Any reading of our opinion on original submission that we were applying the “discovery rule” is expressly disavowed. It should be understood that we relied instead on our Wells opinion, which accurately explains the proper test to be applied. The proper terminology is used in our footnote in the original opinion. We have carefully reconsidered all of appellees’ points of error on rehearing and they are overruled.
A fact issue exists of whether Del Rio had a reasonable opportunity to discover the nature of his injury. This case is REVERSED AND REMANDED for trial.