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Medical Malpractice Attorney in Austin, TX
Texas built its medical malpractice statute to make these claims hard to bring, and it worked. A claimant must give 60 days written notice before filing, serve a qualified expert report within 120 days of filing or face dismissal with fees, and accept a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages against a physician or provider. Understanding those three rules is what separates a claim worth pursuing from one that will cost more than it can recover. The Law Offices of Brent A. Devere reviews medical negligence claims in Austin and across Central Texas.
The answers below provide general information and are not legal advice for your specific situation.
Frequently asked questions
No, and this is where most potential claims genuinely end. Medicine involves risk that exists no matter how carefully care is delivered, and a poor result is not evidence of negligence by itself. A claim requires showing that the care fell below the standard a reasonably prudent provider would have met, and that the failure caused the harm. Both halves have to be proven and the second is often harder than the first.
Texas requires a claimant to serve a report from a qualified expert on each defendant within 120 days of filing suit, setting out the standard of care, how it was breached, and the causal relationship to the injury. Missing the deadline or serving an inadequate report results in dismissal of the claim with prejudice and an award of the defendant's attorney's fees. It is the single most consequential procedural rule in Texas medical malpractice practice.
Yes. Chapter 74 requires written notice of a health care liability claim, accompanied by a statutory medical authorization, served on each provider at least 60 days before suit is filed. Giving that notice extends the limitations period by 75 days, which is the one piece of relief the statute offers, and it matters when a deadline is approaching.
Noneconomic damages are. Texas caps them at $250,000 per claimant against physicians and health care providers, with a separate limit applying to health care institutions. Economic damages, meaning medical expenses and lost earning capacity, are not capped. The practical effect is that cases where the primary loss is pain, suffering, and disfigurement are worth far less in Texas than the same facts elsewhere.
Because qualified expert review is required before a case can even be filed, and continues through trial. A firm has to invest substantially in expert analysis before knowing whether a claim is viable, and that investment is lost if it is not. Chapter 74 was designed to produce exactly this filter, which is why careful firms screen these claims closely and decline many that involve real harm.
Generally two years from the negligent act, the completion of the course of treatment, or the hospitalization, whichever applies. Texas also applies a ten-year statute of repose, an outer limit that can bar a claim even if the injury was never discovered within it. Both rules are strict, and neither behaves like the ordinary personal injury deadline.
Minors receive additional protection, but the notice requirement, the expert report requirement, and the ten-year statute of repose still apply. Birth injury claims in particular can run against the repose period while the child's condition is still being understood, which is why these cases should never be allowed to sit.
Sometimes, and less often than people expect. Many physicians practicing at a hospital are independent contractors with admitting privileges rather than employees, which limits the hospital's responsibility for their clinical decisions. Hospital liability more commonly rests on its own conduct: credentialing, nursing care, staffing levels, monitoring, medication systems, and infection control.
Failure to diagnose and delayed diagnosis, particularly of cancer, infection, and cardiac events. Surgical error, including retained items and wrong-site procedures. Medication and anesthesia error. Birth injury. And failure to monitor or respond to a patient whose condition was visibly deteriorating.
Yes, the complete set rather than a discharge summary. No qualified expert can assess a claim without them, and no responsible firm will express an opinion without one. Requesting them early also creates a dated record of what the chart contained, which occasionally matters. You have a right to your records and they can be requested directly.
Often it is not, and an honest firm will tell you so rather than take a retainer to find out. The cost of expert review required by Chapter 74, combined with the cap on noneconomic damages, means claims with limited economic damages frequently cannot be brought economically no matter how clear the negligence. That is a consequence of the statute rather than a judgment about what happened to you.
The firm is based in Austin and represents clients throughout Texas, primarily in Travis County, Williamson County, and Bastrop County.
Board certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization recognizes attorneys who demonstrate substantial experience in a specific area of law, pass a rigorous examination, and receive peer review.Brent A. Devere is Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law, Consumer Bankruptcy Law, Residential Real Estate Law, and Commercial Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.Working with a board-certified attorney means your case is handled by a lawyer with proven knowledge, experience, and commitment in their field.
The initial consultation is free. You can call the Austin office or use the contact form to schedule one, and there is no cost or obligation to discuss your situation.
Yes. The firm handles most types of litigation. If your matter isn't listed among the practice areas, contact the office to discuss whether the firm can help.
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