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Garza v. Doctors on Wilcrest9/10/1998
On Appeal from the 164th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 94-37171
This is an appeal of a judgment rendered in favor of Doctors on Wilcrest, P.A., Duncan G. Bowell, M.D. and Alan Reichman, M.D. ("Doctors"). Guadalupe Garza ("Garza") sued Doctors, her employers, for her wrongful termination. The jury determined that Doctors had wrongfully terminated Garza for reporting them to the Texas Board of Medical Examiners. The jury awarded Garza $75,000 in actual damages and $28,000 in exemplary damages. Doctors' filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV"), which the trial court granted. In three points of error, Garza contends the trial court erred (1) in granting the JNOV for Doctors, and (2) in denying her trial amendment. We affirm.
Background
Garza worked for Doctors as an x-ray technician and radiation safety officer. She learned that one of her co-workers had been performing x-rays without having been properly certified and without using the proper protective shielding. Garza sought a meeting with her supervisor to express her concerns. Her request, however, was denied. Garza, thus, faxed a letter to the Texas Board of Medical Examiners regarding her concerns. Garza's letter provides:
I am the Radiation Safety Officer for Doctors on Wilcrest, Guadelupe L. Garza, Registration # R11277, Expiration Date May 31, 1997. As the (RSO) it is my responsibility that these rules be followed.
Eric Liu, permit # 2283, Original Date 5-1-89, Expires 4-28-95.
Diana V. Garza, permit # 132456, Original Date 4-19-94, Expires 4- 19-95.
Diana V. Garza was trained in Radiographic techniques by Eric Liu without my knowledge & approval. [Diana] was not wearing a badge or proper protection nor was she permissioned under any Doctor. She was performing Radiographic procedures since March 28, 1994 & didn't get permissioned till April 19, 1994. Those people know that they are not to practice taking X-Rays on anyone without the proper credentialing & training.
[Copy of the rules regarding the proper procedure.]
Please help me in this matter. This puts the patients & workers in alot of danger. Thank You. I only work on Wed., Thurs., & Fri. Please contact if necessary.
The next morning, Doctors fired Garza. Additionally, she sent a copy of the faxed letter to the Texas Department of Health.
In her live pleadings, Garza asserted her cause of action for wrongful termination under Tex. Lab. Code Ann. ยงยง 411.082, .083 (Vernon 1993). However, she claims that her trial petition also supports a common law cause of action for wrongful termination.
Points of Error One and Two
In her first point of error, Garza claims that the trial court erred in granting the JNOV for Doctors because she pled and proved a common law cause of action for wrongful termination. In her second point of error, Garza claims that the trial court erred in failing to enter judgment in her favor in accordance with the jury's verdict. We disagree.
Garza argues that her claim for common law wrongful termination is supported by two separate theories. First, Garza correctly argues that Sabine Pilot Service, Inc. v. Hauck, 687 S.W.2d 733 (Tex. 1985), created a common law exception to the employment-at-will doctrine that an employee cannot solely be terminated for refusing to perform an illegal act. In Sabine Pilot, the employee, a deckhand for Sabine Pilot, was instructed by the employer to pump the bilges into the water even though a placard on the boat stated that it was illegal to do such an act. See id. at 734. Upon conf
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