Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners; Patrick Fortner, in His Official Capacity as the Board's Executive Director; and Texas Chiropractic Association v. Texas Medical Association

Summary

This document is a dissenting opinion in a Texas Supreme Court case concerning whether the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners exceeded its statutory authority by authorizing chiropractors to perform vestibular-ocular-nystagmus testing. Justice Bland, joined by Justice Boyd, concluded that the rule exceeded the Legislature’s limits on chiropractic practice because the testing could diagnose neurological conditions unrelated to the spine or musculoskeletal system.

Holdings

1. The dissent would hold that the Board exceeded its statutory authority because vestibular-ocular-nystagmus testing and the neurological diagnoses it may inform are unrelated to the spine or musculoskeletal system, the legislatively defined scope of chiropractic practice.
2. The dissent would hold that chiropractors may not use an examination outside the spine or musculoskeletal system to rule out a purely neurological or vestibular condition.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners exceeded its statutory authority by authorizing chiropractors to perform vestibular-ocular-nystagmus testing and make related neurological diagnoses.
2. Whether the Board's definitions of musculoskeletal system and subluxation complex, considered alone, warranted a judicial determination that the Board exceeded its authority.
3. Whether a chiropractor may conduct a neurological examination outside the spine or musculoskeletal system to rule out a neurological cause of a patient's symptoms.

Disposition

reversed