Tarrant County Hospital District v. Norma

This cause raises the issue of whether a wrongful death action can be brought under the Texas Wrongful Death Act, TEX. REV.CIV.PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 71.002 (Vernon 1986), when a viable fetus is negligently killed. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the ground that the wrongful death statute did not allow a cause of action for the intrauterine death of a fetus. The court of appeals construed the statute as allowing such a cause of action and therefore reversed and remanded the cause for trial. 710 S.W.2d 811. Subsequent to the court of appeals opinion,…