Baptist Health System, Inc., D/b/a Walker Baptist Medical Center v. Armando Cantu, as Father and Next Friend Of…

Summary

The court reversed a $10 million judgment against WBMC and remanded for a new trial because the trial court improperly admitted extensive evidence concerning prior medical-malpractice claims against the hospital. Although WBMC's questioning arguably opened the door to limited evidence that it knew of prior vicarious-liability claims, the rebuttal evidence was not confined to that issue and instead presented inflammatory details about prior injuries, deaths, and alleged misconduct. The court held that the evidence was irrelevant to the permissible purpose, highly prejudicial, and not cured by a limiting instruction.