| |
|
|
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, Betty Bardwell alleges that: |
|
|
(1) she was employed by the Rebecca Sealy Hospital, |
|
|
part of The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; |
|
|
(2) on or about May 13, 2003, she slipped on a liquid |
|
|
substance on the floor of the employee break room at the Rebecca |
|
|
Sealy Hospital; |
|
|
(3) as a result of the fall, she sustained injuries to |
|
|
her right wrist that required surgery; |
|
|
(4) there were no warning signs that indicated |
|
|
housekeeping had mopped the floor; |
|
|
(5) she reported the incident to David H. McLaren of |
|
|
The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and that his |
|
|
subsequent report to The University of Texas System Workers' |
|
|
Compensation Insurance Company was "totally incorrect"; |
|
|
(6) David McLaren's report indicated that Betty |
|
|
Bardwell knowingly walked on a wet floor despite warning signs; |
|
|
(7) her reputation has been damaged as a result of the |
|
|
inaccurate report; |
|
|
(8) the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission |
|
|
conducted a hearing on January 5, 2004, to determine the validity of |
|
|
her claims; |
|
|
(9) the decision was favorable to Betty Bardwell; |
|
|
(10) additionally, Betty Bardwell signed an |
|
|
"Authorization for Release of Information" addressed to Dr. Emmie |
|
|
Ko, the surgeon who performed the wrist surgery, on which she |
|
|
indicated that only medical records related to the injuries |
|
|
sustained in the fall should be released; |
|
|
(11) during the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission |
|
|
hearing, she discovered that Bradley D. McClellan, assistant |
|
|
attorney general for the State of Texas, had access to her entire |
|
|
medical file; |
|
|
(12) The University of Texas Medical Branch at |
|
|
Galveston released her entire medical file to Rydman Record |
|
|
Retrieval, a company that was contracted by the attorney general's |
|
|
office to obtain her medical records; |
|
|
(13) the original "Authorization for Release of |
|
|
Information" was altered by either the attorney general's office or |
|
|
Rydman Record Retrieval, and that Dr. Emmie Ko's name had been |
|
|
removed from the request; |
|
|
(14) the request as submitted by Rydman Record |
|
|
Retrieval was not compliant with the Health Insurance Portability |
|
|
and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); |
|
|
(15) Bradley D. McClellan is ultimately responsible |
|
|
for the altered release form; and |
|
|
(16) Betty Bardwell is entitled to exemplary damages |
|
|
in the amount of $500,000; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That Betty |
|
|
Bardwell is granted permission to sue the State of Texas, The |
|
|
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and the Office of |
|
|
the Attorney General subject to Chapter 107, Civil Practice and |
|
|
Remedies Code; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the president of The University of Texas |
|
|
Medical Branch at Galveston and the attorney general be served |
|
|
process as provided by Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section |
|
|
107.002, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. |
|
|
|
|
|
* * * * * |