Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, has been the defendant in a wide range of lawsuits, and a Baylor Scott and White lawsuit search typically turns up medical malpractice claims, a record federal Medicare fraud settlement, wage and employment disputes, and civil cases involving premises liability and business dealings. Outcomes have ranged from quiet confidential resolutions to a $23.4 million jury verdict and a $15 million federal settlement.
The Eddie Bernice Johnson Negligence Claim
Former U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson died on December 31, 2023, at age 89. Her family alleged that staff at the Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas failed to provide adequate care after her back surgery, causing a fatal infection.
On September 21, 2023, Johnson’s son Kirk found her lying in her own urine and feces after repeated call-button presses went unanswered. A caseworker later apologized by voicemail, saying the assigned technician had been with another patient. Three days later, surgeon’s notes recorded heavy drainage from her lower-back incision. Two follow-up surgeries were needed to clean the wound and replace spinal hardware. Lab cultures, according to attorney Les Weisbrod, showed organisms associated with feces. Johnson entered a skilled nursing facility in October, moved to hospice in December, and died at home.1Houston Public Media. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s Family Alleges Negligence at Baylor Hospital, Intends to Sue
The family sent a pre-suit notice in January 2024, as Texas law requires before a medical negligence filing. The case never went to court. By June 2024, Baylor Scott & White made an undisclosed financial donation to the newly created Eddie Bernice Johnson Lives Foundation and renamed its employee nursing scholarship for the congresswoman. Weisbrod called the outcome a “win-win,” and Kirk Johnson said the family was “at peace.”2KERA News. Eddie Bernice Johnson Medical Negligence Baylor Scott and White3NBC DFW. Eddie Bernice Johnson Rehabilitation Center Death Claims
Retained Surgical Instrument: The Nava Lawsuit
In August 2025, Genaro Nava, a 58-year-old from Rowlett, Texas, sued Baylor University Medical Center and three surgeons in Dallas County district court. A nearly 10-inch surgical retractor had been left inside his abdomen during an August 2024 procedure to remove a pancreatic tumor. The operation began robotically and was converted to open surgery. An X-ray found the instrument three days later, and Nava had a second operation to remove it.4The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Doctors Left Surgical Tool Inside Patient’s Body, Lawsuit Alleges
Weisbrod, who also filed the Johnson matter, said the family tried to settle before suing but the hospital refused. A Baylor Scott & White spokesperson expressed “deep regret for what he experienced” and said the system had learned from the event. The case was pending as of August 2025.4The Dallas Morning News. Dallas Doctors Left Surgical Tool Inside Patient’s Body, Lawsuit Alleges
The Graham Birth Injury Lawsuit
Charlotte and Robert Graham of West, Texas, filed suit in August 2025 against Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest and obstetrician Dr. Jenny Lee Brakovec in Waco’s 74th State District Court, seeking more than $1 million. The petition alleges that when Charlotte was admitted on September 7, 2023, for induction due to fetal growth restriction and gestational hypertension, nursing staff failed for hours to recognize and report fetal distress.
Between 8:22 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., the petition says, Dr. Brakovec was unaware of the baby’s deteriorating condition because of “inadequate communication” from nursing staff. The baby was delivered breech by C-section at 4:08 p.m. and diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury from oxygen deprivation. She was transferred to Baylor Scott & White Children’s Medical Center in Temple and reportedly suffered permanent impairments, including cerebral palsy and cognitive delays. The family contends an earlier C-section would have prevented the injuries. A hospital spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.5KWTX. Parents of Girl Born With Disorders File Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Against Baylor Scott White Hillcrest
The Millichamp Verdict: $23.4 Million
One of the largest jury awards against a Baylor facility came in November 2003. A Dallas County jury unanimously found Baylor University Medical Center, an emergency room physician, and a radiologist liable for malpractice in the case of John Edward Millichamp III. Millichamp, then 41, was brought to the hospital after a March 1999 car crash. Staff failed to diagnose a fractured neck and torn ligaments at C-6 and C-7, in part because X-rays were incomplete and radiology staff were inadequately supervised. He was discharged despite complaints of tingling and numbness in both hands, collapsed while walking out of the emergency room, and became a quadriplegic.
The jury awarded $23,429,263 for pain, suffering, and losses, plus $7,750,000 in punitive damages against the medical center. Liability was split 65% to the hospital, 27% to emergency physician Anthony C. Toppins, and 8% to radiologist David J. Mendelson. The verdict landed shortly after Texas voters approved Proposition 12, which capped noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000.6Miller Weisbrod. Les Weisbrod Attains Successful Jury Award
The $15 Million Concurrent-Surgery Fraud Settlement
In June 2024, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and Surgical Associates of Texas agreed to pay a combined $15 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations involving concurrent heart surgeries billed to Medicare. The U.S. Department of Justice described it as the largest settlement on record for Medicare fraud involving concurrent surgery claims.
The case began as a sealed whistleblower suit filed in August 2019. The government alleged that three cardiovascular surgeons, Joseph Coselli, Joseph Lamelas, and David Ott, routinely ran two or three heart operations simultaneously in different operating rooms between June 2013 and December 2020, including coronary artery bypass grafts, valve repairs, and aortic repairs. According to the allegations, the surgeons left patients with residents and fellows during critical portions, failed to designate backup surgeons or hold required surgical timeouts, and signed billing paperwork falsely affirming their presence throughout each procedure. Patients allegedly were not told their surgeon would be absent for portions of the operation. The whistleblower received $3,075,000 of the settlement.7U.S. Department of Justice. Texas Medical Center Institutions Agree to Pay $15M Record Settlement Involving Concurrent Billing Claims for Critical Surgeries8The BMJ. Baylor College of Medicine Concurrent Surgery Settlement
Dismissed Upcoding Whistleblower Suit
A separate federal fraud action, United States ex rel. Integra Med Analytics v. Baylor Scott & White Health, alleged $61.8 million in fraudulent Medicare claims through “upcoding,” or assigning higher-value diagnosis codes to boost reimbursements. The complaint said the system trained staff to focus on keywords tied to high-value codes, pressured doctors through clarification documents suggesting revenue-boosting diagnoses, and ordered unnecessary post-operative mechanical ventilation to justify the coding.
The district court dismissed the case, and the Fifth Circuit affirmed in May 2020, finding the statistical evidence consistent with an innocent explanation: that Baylor Scott & White was an early adopter of industry-standard coding practices encouraged by CMS after 2007 guideline changes. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in December 2020, ending the litigation.9Findlaw. United States ex rel. Integra Med Analytics v. Baylor Scott & White Health10Law360. United States ex rel. Integra Med Analytics v. Baylor Scott & White Health
Wage, Employment, and Retaliation Cases
In January 2021, a federal court in the Northern District of Texas granted conditional class-action certification in a Fair Labor Standards Act suit brought by 18 nurse practitioners and physician assistants against Baylor Scott & White Health and the HealthTexas Provider Network. The plaintiffs alleged that the employers docked pay when salaried practitioners worked fewer than 40 hours per week but refused overtime when they worked more, and did not compensate work performed at home such as messaging and patient notes. The group sought about $1.9 million for lost salary over a two-to-three-year period. Baylor Scott & White described the discrepancies as “accounting mistakes.” Employees who worked for the defendants after April 6, 2017, were eligible to opt in.11D Magazine. Court Ruling Allows Class-Action Status in Baylor Scott White Wage Dispute
In an individual employment case, former certified medical assistant Layla Moore sued in the Western District of Texas, alleging she was fired in retaliation for reporting racially charged comments by a co-worker and that her termination amounted to disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She said she had provided medical documentation excusing her from work due to panic attacks, but was terminated for violating a “no call/no show” policy. In June 2019, a magistrate judge recommended allowing her retaliation and disability discrimination claims to proceed to trial, finding genuine disputes about whether the employer’s stated reason was pretextual.12Midpage. Moore v. Baylor Scott & White Health
A registered nurse also sued in Travis County, alleging that Baylor Scott & White’s Marble Falls hospital fired her for reporting patient safety violations, specifically the facility’s failure to require a second nurse to verify chemotherapy dosages before administration. The suit invoked Texas statutes protecting healthcare workers who report conduct posing a substantial risk of harm.
Other Notable Civil Cases
In Baylor Scott & White Health v. Bostick, patient Jerry Bostick sued after falling and injuring himself at a Marble Falls hospital. A Dallas jury found the system largely responsible and awarded $2.47 million. On appeal, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas affirmed in December 2024 that venue was proper but found harmful error in the jury instructions, which used an overbroad definition of “invitee.” The case was remanded for further proceedings on the jury charge issue.13Midpage. Baylor Scott & White Health v. Bostick
In Baylor Scott & White v. Project Rose MSO, LLC, the system was drawn into a commercial dispute tied to a Tyler sports science and medical facility partnered with former NFL players Earl Campbell and Gary Baxter. Project Rose alleged that Texas Spine and Joint Hospital failed to pay for marketing and consulting work totaling over $4.3 million in unpaid invoices, then sold a controlling interest to Baylor Scott & White in violation of the parties’ agreements. In August 2021, the Tyler Court of Appeals ruled that the Texas Citizens Participation Act applied because the dispute involved public figures and a highly publicized facility, but held that counterclaims for unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty fell under the TCPA’s fraud exemption and could proceed. Claims for promissory estoppel and quantum meruit were dismissed for failing to meet the evidentiary threshold.14Findlaw. Baylor Scott & White v. Project Rose MSO, LLC
How Texas’s Damages Cap Shapes These Cases
Texas caps noneconomic damages in medical negligence cases at $250,000. In the Johnson matter, Weisbrod publicly criticized that limit as inadequate and said it shaped the resolution the family accepted.2KERA News. Eddie Bernice Johnson Medical Negligence Baylor Scott and White The cap does not apply to federal False Claims Act settlements like the $15 million concurrent-surgery matter, to wage and hour suits, or to commercial disputes, which is part of why the largest publicly reported figures against Baylor entities have come outside traditional malpractice verdicts.