The names of patients at the center of the state鈥檚 lawsuits against physicians accused of violating Texas鈥� ban on gender-affirming care for minors were mistakenly released through a public records request to the Collin County District Clerk鈥檚 office.
A Feb. 20 case filing by attorneys with Children鈥檚 Health hospital system provided to 四虎影院 included the unredacted names and dates of birth of the 15 patients 鈥� some of them minors 鈥� implicated in Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 lawsuit against pediatrician Dr. M. Brett Cooper. 四虎影院 will not publish the patients鈥� names.
"Regrettably, during the filing of a motion for protection on behalf of our client, confidential information was inadvertently disclosed in an unredacted attachment," a statement from attorneys representing Children's Health read. "Upon identification of this issue, immediate steps were taken to secure all confidential information and ensure its removal from the public record."
Collin County District Clerk Mike Gould said filing parties are responsible for redacting sensitive information.
Paxton has alleged that Cooper, as well as Dr. May Lau and , violated Senate Bill 14 by prescribing hormone therapy to minors after the law went into effect Sept. 1, 2023. The unnamed patients in all three cases are not defendants.
State attorneys subpoenaed Children鈥檚 Health System of Texas and UT Southwestern Medical Center in January for patients鈥� therapy notes, medical and billing records and communication with Cooper and Lau. Both doctors are UT Southwestern employees with medical privileges at Children鈥檚 Health.
The law firm Winston & Strawn represents 22 unnamed patients of Cooper and Lau in their effort to protect their medical information from the state鈥檚 subpoena.
William Logan, one of the patients鈥� attorneys, said the clerical error that resulted in Cooper鈥檚 patients鈥� names being shared underscores his clients鈥� privacy concerns.
鈥淚magine the state wants their full, unredacted psychiatry records,鈥� he said in a phone interview. 鈥淛ust as easily a mistake could happen, and a patient's full psychiatry records could be available for public view. We think that鈥檚 inappropriate, and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e fighting so hard to make sure that the state follows the law.鈥�
Logan added Children鈥檚 Health has been 鈥渁n ally of the patients鈥� throughout case proceedings.
四虎影院 has also reached out to attorneys representing the state, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Cooper and Lau.
Lau and Cooper鈥檚 cases are pending in the 493rd District Court in Collin County, where attorneys for both doctors have separately asked Judge Christine Nowak to transfer the cases to either Dallas or Travis County, where patients were treated. Nowak denied each doctor鈥檚 motion to dismiss Friday.
Cooper鈥檚 attorneys also asked the court for a gag order in the case after Paxton made numerous statements to the media,
A hearing in the Dallas County case for a protective order from the state鈥檚 subpoenas of patient records is scheduled for Thursday.
This story will be updated.
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org.
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