The Texas Supreme Court has decided, in the case of Christus Health Gulf Coast v. Carswell, that a hospital-provided autopsy falls under the scope of the state’s medical liability statute. The plaintiff, Linda Cars­well, alleged that professionals at Christus St. Catherine Hospital in Katy, Tex., defrauded her by refusing to request that an autopsy for her husband—who died as a hospital inpatient—be performed by the county medical examiner’s office. The autopsy was instead performed by a hospital-contracted pathology group. Carswell’s attorneys alleged this was done as part of an effort to hide some medical error-related cause of death.

My lede to an item in this month’s “Put It on the Board” section.  The whole shebang.