When a patient in Texas believes a physician has acted improperly, whether through negligence, unprofessional conduct, substance abuse, or other violations, one of the options available is to file a complaint with the Texas Medical Board. Understanding how this process works, what the Medical Board can and cannot do, and how it relates to a potential medical malpractice claim is important for any patient or family member considering their options after a bad medical experience.

This article explains the Texas Medical Board complaint process, its limitations, and how a Houston medical malpractice lawyer can help patients who have been harmed evaluate their full range of options, including both regulatory complaints and civil malpractice claims.

What Is the Texas Medical Board

The Texas Medical Board is the state agency responsible for licensing and regulating physicians in Texas. Its primary mission is to protect the public by ensuring that licensed physicians meet minimum standards of competency, ethics, and professional conduct. The Board has authority to investigate complaints against physicians, conduct hearings, impose disciplinary sanctions ranging from reprimands to license revocation, and require physicians to complete remedial education or supervision.

The Texas Medical Board does not award compensation to patients. It is a regulatory body, not a civil court. Filing a complaint with the Medical Board will not result in a payment to the patient, even if the Board ultimately disciplines the physician. Patients seeking financial recovery for harm caused by medical negligence must pursue a separate civil medical malpractice claim.

What Types of Conduct Can Be Reported

The Texas Medical Board accepts complaints involving a broad range of physician conduct. These include unprofessional or unethical behavior, sexual misconduct involving patients, substance abuse affecting the practice of medicine, mental or physical conditions that impair a physician’s ability to practice safely, fraudulent billing practices, prescribing controlled substances without adequate clinical justification, and violations of the standard of care that constitute medical negligence.

Not every complaint the Board receives results in discipline. The Board screens complaints and opens investigations only when the conduct alleged, if true, would potentially violate the Medical Practice Act or Board rules. Complaints involving treatment outcomes that are simply unfavorable, but where the physician appears to have met the applicable standard of care, may not result in formal investigation.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
A Texas Medical Board complaint and a medical malpractice lawsuit are completely separate processes with different purposes. The Board protects the public through discipline. A civil lawsuit recovers compensation for the harmed patient. You can pursue both, but one does not substitute for the other.

How to File a Complaint with the Texas Medical Board

Complaints with the Texas Medical Board can be filed online through the Board’s website, by mail, or by phone. The complaint should identify the physician clearly, describe the conduct or events at issue as specifically as possible, and include any documentation the patient can provide, such as medical records, correspondence, or billing documents.

The Board does not require a complaint to be filed by an attorney, and patients in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and across Texas can file complaints on their own. However, patients who believe they may also have a civil malpractice claim should consult with a Houston medical malpractice lawyer or medical negligence attorney before filing, to ensure they understand how the complaint process may interact with any civil litigation.

What Happens After a Complaint Is Filed

After a complaint is filed, the Texas Medical Board assigns it to a staff attorney for initial review. If the complaint appears to allege conduct within the Board’s jurisdiction and sufficient specificity to investigate, the Board will request a response from the physician and may request medical records. The investigation may involve interviews, expert reviews, and review of additional documentation.

The investigation process can take a significant amount of time, often a year or more in complex cases. The outcome may be dismissal, an informal settlement agreement, a formal disciplinary action, or referral to the State Office of Administrative Hearings if the physician contests the proposed discipline.

Patients who file complaints are generally notified of the outcome, but the process is not adversarial in the way a civil lawsuit is. The patient is a complaining witness, not a party to the regulatory proceeding.

How Medical Board Proceedings Relate to Civil Malpractice Claims

A physician’s disciplinary history with the Texas Medical Board is publicly accessible and can be relevant background information in a civil malpractice lawsuit. Evidence that the Texas Medical Board investigated and found violations related to the same conduct at issue in the civil case can be potentially useful context, though it is not automatically admissible in civil litigation and its evidentiary value depends on the specific facts.

Conversely, a Medical Board decision to dismiss a complaint or take no action against a physician does not prevent a civil malpractice claim from proceeding. The standards and purposes of the two processes are different, and a Board decision is not binding on a civil court.

When to Consult a Houston Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Patients who believe they have been harmed by a physician’s negligence should consult with a Houston medical malpractice lawyer or medical negligence attorney as promptly as possible, regardless of whether they intend to file a Medical Board complaint. The two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims runs independently of any Medical Board proceeding, and waiting for the Board process to conclude before consulting an attorney can cause a patient to miss the civil filing deadline.

Anunobi Law PLLC handles medical malpractice and medical negligence claims for patients throughout Texas, including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, The Heights, River Oaks, Sugar Land, Katy, The Woodlands, Missouri City, Pearland, Conroe, Cypress, Spring, and Richmond. Contact us for a confidential consultation.

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Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship with Anunobi Law PLLC. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed Texas attorney.