Jury Slaps $43M Negligence Verdict on East TX Hospital and Suspended Doctor

A Tyler, Texas jury has awarded a former chemical company executive more than $43 million for lifelong damages he suffered after a local hospital allowed him to go under the care of a doctor on probation.

In an 11-1 verdict, the jury ruled Tuesday that Tyler-based East Texas Medical Center committed gross negligence when it violated its own bylaws to allow Dr. Gary Boyd to treat 61-year-old Billy Pierce, who was admitted to the hospital in April 2014 with stomach pain and vomiting. The hospital’s bylaws and policies say that the hospital privileges of a doctor on probation are automatically suspended.