| The Texas Supreme Court interprets the "professional services" exclusion in a general liability policy narrowly to exclude liability for "services" only if the services "breached the standard of care". Our firm represented a pharmacist in some of the underlying litigation that led to this coverage case. The court summarized the facts as follows: "In late 1991 and early 1992, Mid Cities Surgi Center (the surgical center) employed a scrub technician, David Wayne Thomas, who stole fentanyl, an anesthetic, from the surgical center. Apparently using the same syringe, Thomas removed fentanyl from the glass ampules in which it was stored, injected himself with the drug, then injected saline solution back into the ampules to hide his theft. Thomas then re sealed the ampules with super glue and re wrapped them with cellophane to further hide his crime. Because Thomas was infected with Hepatitis C, his use of a dirty syringe allegedly contaminated the ampules." As a result, lawsuits were brought by patients who contracted Hepatitus C, against various individuals and entities including the anesthesiology group. This is a coverage case between the groups professional liability carrier and its general liability carrier. The Court holds that "A determination by the finder of fact that the infection was caused by the breach of a professional standard of care for example, a finding that the infection was caused by the doctors' negligent administration of the anesthetic would negate Utica's duty to indemnify. If, however, the professional services were rendered with due care, then the exclusion would not apply." |
