Texas PJC Malpractice 2022

PJC 51.5

M EDICAL M ALPRACTICE —T HEORIES OF D IRECT L IABILITY

PJC 51.5

Proportionate Responsibility If Contribution Defendant Is Joined—Medical

If you answered “Yes” to Question[ s ] ______ [ applicable liability ques tion(s) ] for more than one of those named below, then answer the following question. Otherwise, do not answer the following question. Assign percentages of responsibility only to those you found caused or con tributed to cause the [ injury ] [ occurrence ]. The percentages you find must total 100 percent. The percentages must be expressed in whole numbers. The per centage of responsibility attributable to any one is not necessarily measured by the number of acts or omissions found. The percentage attributable to any one need not be the same percentage attributed to that one in answering another question. QUESTION ______ With respect to causing or contributing to cause in any way the [ injury ] [ occurrence ] to Paul Payne , find the percentage of responsibility, if any, attrib utable as between or among— 1. Dr. Davis % 2. Connie Contributor % Total 100 % COMMENT When to use. PJC 51.5 is an additional comparative question designed to follow the comparative question in PJC 51.4 or 51.6. It submits the proportionate responsibil ity between the defendant and a contribution defendant under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.016. Section 33.016 specifically requires this second comparative question. This question should not inquire about the responsibility of the claimant. If there is more than one defendant. If the responsibility of more than one defendant is submitted, separate percentage answers should not be sought for each defendant in PJC 51.5; rather, the names of all defendants should be grouped on one answer line. The ratio of responsibility between or among the defendants is fixed by the answer to PJC 51.4 or 51.6, in which a separate answer is obtained for each defendant; seeking a second set of separate answers in PJC 51.5 might result in jury confusion or conflict ing answers. The contribution responsibility of each defendant is determined by allo-

68