Administrative Court Partially Rules Against COVID Crusader

Bowden's fight faces new challenges but is not over.

Houston ENT Dr. Mary Talley Bowden was dealt a setback in the Texas Medical Board’s (TMB) case against her.

The State Office of Administrative Hearing (SOAH) issued a summary judgment on the parts of her case stemming from her attempted treatment of Jason Jones, an ailing Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy, with ivermectin in 2021.

“The evidence conclusively establishes that [Bowden] behaved unprofessionally and in a disruptive manner toward licensees and hospital personnel that interfered with patient care and could be reasonably expected to adversely impact the quality of care rendered to a patient,” Judges Nicolette Robles and Linda Burgess wrote.

Bowden responded on X. “SOAH just awarded TMB partial summary judgment against me, claiming I knew I didn’t have privileges when I sent a nurse to the hospital. I relied on lawyers to guide me during this chaotic and unusual situation where a man’s life was hanging on the line. This is a win for Texas Huguley hospital who would rather let a patient die than allow him to try a drug safer than Tylenol. Below are text messages between myself and the patient’s lawyer, where I ask for clarification before proceeding,” she posted.

Their judgment was based on recounting factual events, which are largely undisputed.

Jones’s now-widowed wife reached out to Bowden to treat her husband with Ivermectin after Fort Worth’s Huguley Hospital refused. Bowden agreed, but Hugley refused to admit Bowden to the premises to treat the deputy. An emergency legal battle ensued, with both sides scoring favorable and unfavorable orders throughout early November 2021.

At one point, the trial court issued an order that would have allowed Bowden to send a nurse to the hospital to treat Jones. Then, the trial court’s order was stayed by the Court of Appeals.

TMB’s case partially hinged on what happened next: Was Bowden informed of the stay before she dispatched a nurse to the hospital?

Bowden told The Dallas Express that the email with the order was sent to her lawyer’s junk mail. Without this knowledge, the Stanford-educated surgeon sent a nurse to Huguley to administer the medicine, and she was subsequently turned away by hospital staff.

Bowden posted screenshots of text messages on X with her lawyer that appear to indicate that neither knew of the stay. She explained to DX that she did not intend to defy a court order; she even emailed the hospital and told them her nurse was coming.

“[Huguley lawyers] are claiming she caused a scene, but it’s all on video, and it’s very calm. [The nurse is] like, ‘okay,’ she doesn’t try to force her way into ICU,” Bowden told DX. The doctor posted parts of the nurse’s video online, which does not indicate a heated confrontation. Law enforcement was present for the exchange, and no incident report was filed.

Bowden never treated Jones. He was later released from Huguley’s custody but did not fully recover and died a short period later. The case against Bowden was launched by TMB in 2023.

The SOAH judges found these details unpersuasive. “RESPONDENT KNEW HOSPITAL PRIVILEGES WERE NEEDED,” the judges wrote in one part of the order. They postulated that Bowden did not have admittance privileges at Huguley, and no court order allowed her to treat Jones.

“Lacking privileges in Huguley Hospital, Respondent’s conduct in dispatching… her nurse, to Huguley Hospital’s ICU to administer a medication to Patient interfered with the Hospital’s patient care,” read the SOAH’s partial summary judgment to TMB.

“A summary judgment is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party without a full trial,” Cornell’s legal dictionary defines.

Cornell’s online dictionary explains, “When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court views all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant.” In other words, if one party to a lawsuit asks for summary judgment, the court looks at the facts as favorably as possible to the opposite side. If the law would still dictate a certain outcome, the judge then enters that judgment without a trial.

The judges did not issue a summary judgment on the parts of the case connected to her dispute with Houston Methodist Hospital.

In 2021, Bowden had admittance privileges but was not an employee of the hospital. After she criticized COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the hospital suspended her admittance privileges, and Bowden responded by severing all ties with the hospital.

Methodist then reported her for resigning under investigation, but, as Bowden pointed out, “Houston Methodist has never provided any evidence I was under investigation. They’ve just said I was under investigation,” The Dallas Express reported.

This setback follows a series of victories for the doctor, including scoring a settlement with the FDA over the agency’s misinformation related to ivermectin and the TMB dropping one of the complaints against her after the Board’s Medical Director resigned under a cloud of controversy around his connections to Planned Parenthood.

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