Top takeaways
The Texas Supreme Court will hear detransitioner Soren Aldaco’s case against her former therapist over whether Texas’ two-year statute of limitations began with a February 2021 recommendation letter or with Aldaco’s June 2021 mastectomy.
Aldaco alleges her therapist, Barbara Wood, negligently wrote the recommendation letter without adequately evaluating her gender identity or mental health, leading to a double mastectomy that she says caused permanent harm.
Aldaco sued Wood and other medical providers in July 2023 after giving pre-suit notice in May; claims against some providers were dismissed, and only the claims against Wood are before the Supreme Court.
Aldaco argues she could not have sued before the surgery because no legal injury had occurred. Her case is one of several detransitioner lawsuits nationwide, including one in New York that recently awarded $2 million to a detransitioner.
More details
Texas’ Supreme Court is set to hear a case filed by a detransitioner against her former therapist over a recommendation letter that she argues was negligent and encouraged her to get a double mastectomy.
Detransitioner Soren Aldaco is asking the court to decide whether Texas’ two-year statute of limitations began in February 2021 when her therapist, Barbara Wood, wrote a letter recommending that she undergo a double mastectomy as part of her “transition,” or in June 2021, when she went through with the procedure.
According to court filings obtained by Texas Scorecard, Aldaco underwent the mastectomy at age 19 after years of questioning her gender identity. She now claims Wood’s letter to the surgical center was negligent because she “had little to no insight into Ms. Aldaco’s transgender perspective and experience because she never bothered to investigate it.” According to the filing, the therapy sessions did not focus on Aldaco’s gender identity.
Texas Scorecard reported that Wood had written in the letter that her “ex-spouse underwent transition” while they were still married, and she “witnessed all of the stages leading up to that decision.” She claimed she was “fully versed on this process” and endorsed Aldaco’s decision to pursue a mastectomy.
The outlet also reported that Aldaco said she experienced extensive abdominal bleeding and bruising after the surgery, and doctors and nurses at the surgical center allegedly brushed aside her concerns. According to IWFeatures, the surgery also affected her fertility.
Aldaco detransitioned six months after her double mastectomy, Texas Scorecard reported. She sued Wood, the counseling center, and her medical providers in July 2023 — after giving them notice of her intent to sue in May — alleging negligence and gross negligence based on the letter. Aldaco later amended the suit and added fraud claims as well.
According to IWFeatures, the suit is facing challenges due to the statute of limitations for medical malpractice. Aldaco’s claims against her nurse practitioner, who had prescribed her hormones at age 17 without her mother’s consent, and her psychiatrist were dismissed, while those against her surgeon are still subject to appeal. The Texas Supreme Court is slated to hear only Aldaco’s claims against Wood, following a ruling from the Second Court of Appeals, which held that the two-year statute of limitations closed in February 2023 since the allegations stem from Wood’s provision of the letter in February 2021.
Aldaco argues that the deadline for suing Wood was in June 2023, two years after the mastectomy and harm occurred. She also claims she would not have had standing to sue before the surgery, since before the procedure, “she merely had possession of a fraudulent and negligently drafted letter” that did not cause injury. Though she formally sued in July 2023, Aldaco argues she preserved her claims by providing notice of her intent to sue before the statute of limitations expired.
“We feel that the date of harm is the surgery, and not the [therapist’s recommendation] letter [for the surgery],” Aldaco said, according to IWFeatures. “The therapist had authority to revoke that access. By her writing the letter and allowing the letter to be used, I experienced a harm that I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced in her decision to or not to endorse my double mastectomy, and I think that was an especially grievous error.”
According to the New York Post, Aldaco’s case is one of 28 detransitioner lawsuits currently in litigation across the U.S. The outlet also reported that another detransitioner, 22-year-old Varian Fox, won $2 million in a similar case in New York Jan. 30 after a jury found a psychologist and a surgeon liable of medical malpractice for pressuring her into a double mastectomy.
Texas Scorecard reported that the court will hear oral arguments for Aldaco’s case Feb. 11.