When the system fails,
someone has to fight back.
In 2023, my son Nicholas was a victim of medical negligence. A hospital sent him home with sepsis—a life-threatening condition that should have been caught. Days later, he spent over 40 days at Cook Children’s Hospital fighting for his life.
He survived. But he shouldn’t have had to fight that hard.
Nicholas now lives with long-term adverse effects because of decisions made by people who should have known better. And when I tried to navigate the system to get answers—to get accountability—I realized how broken it was. Deadlines were missed. Files were misplaced. Families like ours were expected to just accept it and move on.
What I've Learned
Advocacy isn’t about knowing the law—it’s about understanding the system, asking the right questions, and building an airtight case. It’s about documentation, persistence, and knowing when to push back.
Protect Texas Patients: Pass the Nicholas and Darren Sepsis Safety Act
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Building Your Case?
If you’re facing a medical negligence case, legal battle, or bureaucratic maze and don’t know where to start, I may be able to help.
Many people ask: “What can I do if unsafe care happens at a hospital?” Here are the official complaint options, what they cover, the rules involved, and how to file:
1. Texas Board of Nursing (BON) – stay factual and write without emotion
- Investigates nurse conduct
- Standard: Texas Administrative Code §217.11
- Examples: Failure to act on abnormal vitals, not documenting inability to urinate, stopping IV fluids early, failure to activate sepsis protocols
- File here: www.bon.texas.gov
2. Texas Medical Board (TMB) – stay factual and write without emotion
- Investigates physician conduct
- Standard: Texas Medical Practice Act;
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines
- Examples: Discharging patients with tachycardia/hypotension, not ordering blood cultures, not giving antibiotics within 1 hour for suspected sepsis
- File here: www.tmb.state.tx.us
3. Texas Health & Human Services (HHS) / CMS – know the violations before submitting
- Investigates hospitals
- Standards: Federal Conditions of Participation (42 CFR §482); state licensing rules
- Examples: Unsafe discharge practices, poor infection control, lack of pediatric protocols
- File here: Call 1-888-973-0022 or online: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/submit-a-complaint?fbclid
4. Texas Health & Human Services (HHS) / CMS – know the violations before submitting
- Investigates hospitals
- Standards: Federal Conditions of Participation (42 CFR §482); state licensing rules
- Examples: Unsafe discharge practices, poor infection control, lack of pediatric protocols
- File here: Call 1-888-973-0022 or online: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/submit-a-complaint?fbclid
5. Tips for filing complaints
- Include date, time, vitals, labs, and orders
- State what should have been done but wasn’t (stick with facts)
- Cite the rule or guideline violated
- List the outcome (e.g., ICU admission, injury)
- You can file anonymously with CMS and TJC. At BON and TMB, you can request
confidentiality. - You are not powerless. Your complaint can protect the next patient.