Two doctors who treat injured police officers for the City of Fort Worth are bringing legal action against the city.
Doctors Jon Schweitzer and Steven Simmons have brought legal action against the City of Fort Worth and its partnered healthcare organizations, such as the BlackStone Network, seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) and permanent injunctive relief.
The April 23 filings warned that plaintiffs would “suffer irreparable harm” if immediate action was not taken.
The plaintiff’s attorneys warned that there could be more than just damage to Southwest Sports & Spine, where Schweitzer and Simmons are physicians, but also to the police officers they treat and help evaluate for workers’ compensation programs.
“Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law in the event that Defendants are allowed to terminate Plaintiffs from the BlackStone network because: (i) such action will immediately eliminate the source of approximately 65% of Plaintiffs’ workers compensation patients and income; and, (ii) Plaintiffs’ existing patients under the BlackStone network and treated by Plaintiffs will be unable to seek treatment from Plaintiffs without having to bear all of the expense of such treatment,” the court documents read.
The Honorable Robert P. Brotherton of the 236th Judicial District granted the temporary restraining order. He directed the defendants to maintain the status quo, keep Southwest Sports & Spine in the network, and keep the care provider on all relevant lists, websites, and directories.
Brotherton indicated that the court will make a determination about the injunction at a later date and that there will be another hearing on this case on May 7.
Schweitzer told The Dallas Express the day after the court order, “We are happy to be a resource for officers again.” He added that some have already come back in to seek treatment.
A spokeswoman for the city offered a statement to DX that she said came from the legal department: “The City will comply with the Court’s TRO, but looks forward to prevailing in the lawsuit once all the facts are known to the Court.”
This court battle follows a year’s worth of deteriorating relations between the City of Fort Worth leaders and Southwest Sports & Spine physicians.
Some of this conflict spilled into the public eye when DX reported that police department officials and doctors thought the other had done something wrong.
Schweitzer had said that Acting Police Chief Robert Alldredge requested the doctor’s assistance in classifying some injured police officers in such a way that would require the police officers’s health insurance to cover their work-related injuries instead of utilizing workers’ compensation.
Alldredge told the outlet, “The best interests of our valuable employees and protecting City resources have always guided my actions.”
The acting chief shared a letter that was sent to Schweitzer and Simmons in May 2024 that indicated the department was in the middle of a healthcare assessment and “some activities were revealed about Southwest Sports and Spine’s business practice with the City of Fort Worth’s Workers Compensation program that caused the Police Department some concern, including not returning police officers to work timely.”
Schweitzer denies any allegation that he does too much for his police department patients. “I’ve won 94% of all cases since 2014 when we’ve gone to court,” the doctor said.