Romero v. KPH Consolidation, Inc.

Chief Justice JEFFERSON, Justice OWEN, Justice O’NEILL, Justice WAINWRIGHT, Justice MEDINA, and Justice GREEN joined.

This is an action against a hospital for negligently delaying a blood transfusion for the plaintiff while he was in surgery, and for malicious credentialing of the surgeon. The trial court rendered judgment on a verdict for the plaintiff on both claims. As the case comes to us, it raises two principal issues, each requiring a bit of explanation at the outset.

The first issue is whether there is any clear and convincing evidence that the hospital acted with malice in…