Wichita Falls State Hospital v. Taylor

This is an interlocutory appeal in a wrongful-death lawsuit against Wichita Falls State Hospital for violations of the “patient’s bill of rights,” which is codified at chapter 321 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. We must determine whether the Legislature intended to waive the State’s sovereign immunity by enacting section 321.003 of the Code. We conclude that it did not. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and dismiss Taylor’s claims for want of jurisdiction.

I

Background

Terry Lynn Taylor was involuntarily committed to Wichita Falls State Hospital for severe mental…