Med Mal News

A suit against the Texas Medical Board (TMB) will be allowed to proceed now that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held that a physicians' group has standing to sue on behalf of its members. The doctors' group, the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons Inc. (AAPS), has accused the TMB of using anonymous complaints and retaliatory actions against physicians in violation of their constitutional rights. The TMB's actions, the group claims, have harmed physicians' reputations and livelihoods while at the same time making them fearful of lodging complaints against the system for fear of retaliation. For example, the plaintiff claims that a New York insurance company, seeking to avoid paying a claim, was permitted to make harmful anonymous complaints against a physician. The suit was dismissed for lack of standing in the District Court, but the Fifth Circuit reversed in Association of American Physicians & Surgeons Inc. v. Texas Medical Board (TMB), stating, “AAPS's complaint alleged, among other things, abuses perpetrated on physicians by means of anonymous complaints, harassment of doctors who complained about the Board, and conflicts of interest by decision-makers. If practiced systematically, such abuses may have violated or chilled AAPS members' constitutional rights.” Other circuits are split on the question whether to grant “associational standing” in cases like these, with some saying individuals must bring their own suits. Advocates for the approach adopted by the Fifth Circuit contend that individuals are in no position to press their own claims against medical boards, as they face long delays in their cases and place themselves in danger of retaliatory actions by their medical boards when they protest what they see as unfair treatment.