2023
Texas Supreme Court clarifies future periodic payment provision element of 2003 liability reforms on rehearing
On April 22, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion providing guidance on how courts should apply the periodic payments provision, a key element of the state’s 2003 landmark medical liability reforms, holding that the structure must in some way conform to the evidence presented to the jury at trial.
Brent Cooper, an attorney for Texas Alliance Patient Access, says the high court’s decision will be useful for healthcare defendants going forward.
“It puts parameters around the trial court’s decision and makes that decision reviewable by a higher court should the trial court fail to follow the statute,” Cooper said.
Austin Attorney Chosen as New TAPA Leader. Jackson will protect Texas’ Historic Medical Liability Reforms
June, 2023 - Austin, TX-- Austin attorney Brian Jackson has been named the new executive director of Texas Alliance for Patient Access. Jackson replaces the retiring Jon Opelt, who led the organization for 19 years.
Jackson has defended physicians, hospitals, and nurses in medical liability cases for 33 years. He has served as TAPA’s General Counsel since 2016 and will now become TAPA’s full-time executive director while still maintaining a part-time law practice.
TAPA is the unified voice of Texas healthcare on medical liability matters. Its members include the Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association, medical clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, charity clinics, and other healthcare organizations.
Texas Supreme Court Remands $14 Million Judgment for Calculation of Settlement Credit
Southeast Texas Record
February 21, 2023
AUSTIN - On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court found that a trial court improperly denied defendant health care providers an offsetting settlement credit in a medical malpractice suit that resulted in a $14 million judgment.
Court records show a petition for review was filed by Dr. Jesus Virlar and the Gonzaba Medical Group.
According to the high court’s opinion, the case involves a woman who suffered brain injuries due to complications from gastric-bypass surgery. She and her minor daughter sued several defendants.
HB 955 Seeks to Amend Texas Civil Code, Cut affidavit for Medical Bills Under $50K
Southeast Texas Record
March 27, 2023
AUSTIN - A piece of legislation seeking to eliminate affidavits for medical bills under $50,000 in lawsuits was recently heard by the House Committee for Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence.
On Dec. 8, Rep. Harold Dutton, Jr. introduced House Bill 955, which relates “to affidavits concerning cost and necessity of services in civil actions.”
As currently written, HB 955 seeks to amend the Texas Civil Code to read that if a claimant offers into evidence a medical bill totaling $50,000 or less, an affidavit is not necessary to support a finding of fact by a judge or jury that the amount charged was reasonable or that the service was necessary.
2022
TAPA files brief contending conclusory and unexplained statements are not evidence of a material fact
On December 22, 2022, TAPA filed an amicus brief in the Texas Supreme Court in a case regarding treating a snake bite in a hospital emergency department.
Particularly troublesome was the Third Court of Appeals’ holding that reversal of the trial court’s summary judgment ruling was warranted because “a possibility” existed that the physician was guilty of consciously putting her patient at extreme risk of harm.
Possibilities are not evidence, and allowing this reversal to stand has worrisome implications, including a watering down of the evidence required for a plaintiff to sue in an emergency department case.
Texas Supreme Court finds health care provider’s polices and procedures fall outside scope of pre-report discovery
Southeast Texas Record
March 2, 2022
The Texas Supreme Court rejected an attempt to accelerate the timeline under which plaintiffs can request a health care provider’s policies, procedures, and other documents in medical malpractice cases, in a ruling issued on February 25.
The high court’s decision in Signature Pointe Senior Living Community let stand an important plank of Texas’ 2003 landmark medical liability reforms that attempted to rein in non-meritorious lawsuits. The court said that the narrow provision that allows discovery for information “related to the patient’s health care” does not include policies and procedures and that any other interpretation “would swallow the very discovery limitation” the Legislature intended.
Texas’ non-economic damage cap in medical liability cases is under fire
By Brian Jackson
TAPA General Counsel
A who’s who of Texas’ most prominent plaintiff’s lawyers teamed up with Washington, D.C.’s Center for Constitutional Litigation to file Winnett v. Frank, et, a class-action lawsuit in federal court challenging Texas’ non-economic damage cap in medical liability cases.
The case was tried before Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin on February 9. Undoubtedly, the losing party will appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit.
We believe that case law favors our legal position and are committed to defending the cap to the U.S. Supreme Court if need be. The Winnett case is a legal fight we must win. If we lose the cap, we will likely never get it back.
Pandemic Liability Protection Act: Is SB 6 Working as Intended?
Nearly a year has passed since the Legislature enacted SB 6, which extends liability protections to health care providers and businesses from lawsuits related to COVID-19. Has the bill been successful in its policy objective to prevent a wave of litigation in Texas courts, primarily health care liability, premises liability, and employer-employee claims?
The answer is almost certainly yes. It is always difficult to assess how many lawsuits might have been filed if the Legislature had not intervened. Yet, we feel confident that we would be seeing far more malpractice claims against health care providers, particularly hospitals and nursing homes, and essential businesses that had to keep operating during the height of the pandemic in the face of ever-changing health and safety guidelines.
Supreme Court of Texas deems suit against medical spa a health care liability claim
The Texas Supreme Court reversed an appellate court ruling on February 25, in finding that a lawsuit alleging treatments at a medical spa that caused skin scarring and discoloration constitutes a health care liability claim.
Brent Cooper, a Dallas attorney representing Texas Alliance for Patient Access, noted that the court’s ruling in Lake Jackson Medical Spa emphasized that “the underlying nature of claims, rather than their label, control their characterization.”
2021
Texas Legislature Passes Pandemic Liability Protections Bill
Southeast Texas Record
June 1, 2021
SB6 provides liability protections to healthcare workers and facilities retroactively from the date the Governor declared COVID-19 a statewide public emergency. Thirty-six states—either through executive order or state laws—have granted healthcare workers and healthcare facilities limited liability protections when battling the COVID-19 outbreak.
Texas’ cap on noneconomic damages has once more come under attack, this time in an Austin federal court.
By George Christian
Texas Civil Justice League
September 20, 2021
We have speculated as to whether the lawsuit forms part of a larger strategy to repeal or modify the cap in the Legislature, but either way, the cap will have to be defended in every session going forward. But in order to present a persuasive case for maintaining the present cap, we have the burden of persuading legislators and the general public that the $250,000 limit was a good policy in 2003, and it remains a good policy today.
Landmark Medical Liability Reforms Remain Intact
For the ninth successive legislative session, the 2003 medical liability reforms remain intact. A bill that would have indexed the non-economic cap, failed to get a hearing.
Our priority legislation, the Pandemic Liability Protection Act (SB 6), passed with supermajorities in both chambers. And a “treat until transfer” bill involving end-of-life care failed to reach the Senate floor. No bill opposed by TAPA became law.
Texas’ Non-economic damages Cap Being Challenged in Austin Federal Court
A trial is set for January 7.
Thirteen years ago, a veritable who’s who of trial lawyers filed a somewhat similar and unsuccessful challenge in Marshall, Texas.
This is a case we can and must win.
Testimony in Favor of SB 6: The Pandemic Liability Protection Act
Chris Briggs Paramedic from Weatherford, Texas
Adam Willmann The CEO of a rural hospital
Dr. Liam Fry An Austin Geriatrician
“When acting in good faith, should we be held liable for a standard of care which was neither known nor knowable with any certainty amid a raging storm? Is that fair?”
Dr. Manish Naik, Internist
Austin Regional Clinic
Trial lawyers spend millions to recruit patients to sue doctors and nurses for COVID care.
Since March 2020, lawyers, law firms, and other legal services advertisers aired over 176K TV ads mentioning the virus at an estimated cost of $34M.
COVID-19 Legal Services Television Advertising
Vaccine Brings Huge Relief to Nursing Homes; Report Shows COVID-19 Shot is Protecting Vulnerable Residents
The widespread introduction of the COVID-19 vaccination in U.S. long-term care centers is rapidly pushing the deadly disease out of nursing homes, The New York Times reported in its Feb. 25, 2021 edition.
“From late December to early February, new cases among nursing home residents fell by more than 80 percent, nearly double the rate of improvement in the general population,” the Times article said. “The trendline for deaths was even more striking: Even as fatalities spiked overall [during] this winter, deaths inside the facilities have fallen, decreasing by more than 65 percent.”
Governor Abbott Signs Pandemic Liability Protection Act, Bill Takes Effect Immediately
Southeast Texas Record
June 15, 2021
The bill aims to curtail misguided and unwarranted COVID-related lawsuits.
Texas Senate Passes Pandemic Civil Liability Protections for Businesses
The Texan
April 8, 2021
In a 29 to 1 vote, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 6, which if approved by the lower chamber would provide civil liability protections for businesses that operated during the pandemic since the statewide disaster declaration was first declared in March 2020.
But the bill did not make its way out of the chamber without an intra-party dispute, with criticism coming from the Texas GOP chairman Allen West and a lone nay vote coming from Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood).
Paramedic asks Texas lawmakers to protect first responders by voting for SB 6
Southeast Texas Record
March 22, 2021
AUSTIN – Tomorrow, the Pandemic Liability Protection Act (Senate Bill 6) will be heard by the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce.
The Record has obtained some of the written testimony that will be submitted to lawmakers, including testimony offered by a paramedic who says first responders should not be held liable unless care is grossly lacking.
Earlier in the session, Gov. Greg Abbott declared pandemic liability protection as an emergency item.
SB 6, which was introduced by Sen. Kelly Hancock, seeks to provide COVID liability protections for healthcare providers, businesses, religious institutions, and schools that follow safety protocols.
Pandemic Liability Bill Will Soon Be Filed in Texas Legislature
Sen. Kelly Hancock and Rep. Jeff Leach will soon file a pandemic liability protection bill in the Texas Legislature. The bill includes COVID liability protections for physicians, healthcare providers, healthcare institutions, and first responders for patient care and treatment during the declared COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our healthcare workers should be protected from unwarranted COVID-related lawsuits,” said TAPA Chair Dr. Howard Marcus.
Gov. Gregg Abbott has declared pandemic liability protection an emergency item, and both House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have indicated the issue will receive swift consideration. Governor Patrick has declared the item to be one of his priorities for the 2021 session and designated it Senate Bill 6.
2020
Texas hospitals scramble to meet the surge in COVID cases
November 2020
Dr. Robert Hancock—President of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians and a TAPA board member—was interviewed on CNN on November 15. He spoke about the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Texas and the challenges doctors, nurses, and hospitals face. Among those challenges are staff shortages, a limited bed capacity and a decrease in available Intensive Care Unit beds.
Expecting a rush of COVID-19 patients, hospitals prepare their most important resource: health care workers
Texas Tribune
April 2, 2020
With elective procedures canceled, hospitals are reassigning staff. But even the best-laid plans may go awry if clinicians fall ill in large numbers.
“Staffing is a serious concern,” said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Hospital Association. “We have to be able to keep doctors, nurses and other frontline workers safe, otherwise we could have beds with no one to take care of them.”
Should Texas doctors, hospitals and nursing homes be protected from lawsuits during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Health care groups argue providers should be protected from coronavirus-related lawsuits.
Dallas Morning News
May 1, 2020
AUSTIN — Several of the top healthcare associations in Texas want Gov. Greg Abbott to grant them extra protections from potential lawsuits during the coronavirus pandemic.
In an April 3 letter, the Texas Medical Association, Texas Health Care Association, Texas Hospital Association, and others asked Abbott to issue an executive order extending additional liability protections to healthcare providers treating coronavirus patients.
Healthcare community asks Congress for liability protections during the pandemic
Our healthcare professionals and facilities are putting themselves at risk each day while facing workforce shortages, inadequate safety supplies, and insufficient information or changing guidance from federal, state, and local government officials. Despite this, they continue to go above and beyond, doing everything possible to treat the sick and bring comfort to others, often without regard for their own personal well-being. While enduring these numerous difficulties in providing care during the coronavirus outbreak, there is an additional threat that remains hanging over the heads of healthcare providers— medical liability lawsuits.
U.S. Doctors on the Coronavirus Frontline seek protections from malpractice suites
Thomson Reuters
April 2, 2020
(Reuters) - U.S. medical professionals on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic are lobbying policymakers for protection from potential malpractice lawsuits as hospitals triage care and physicians take on roles outside their specialties.
State chapters of the powerful American Medical Association and other groups representing healthcare providers have been pressing governors for legal cover for decisions made in crisis-stricken emergency rooms.
Use simple economics to contain healthcare costs
Medical costs can also be cut by limiting malpractice insurance premiums, a major outlay for medical providers. Texas placed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, i.e., pain and suffering, in 2003. Texas Department of Insurance data reveals that medical malpractice claims, including lawsuits, fell by two-thirds between 2003 and 2011, and the average payout declined 22% to $199,000.
Also, average malpractice insurance premiums plunged 46%, according to the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, a coalition of healthcare providers and physician liability insurers.
Pro-Life doesn’t mean artificially keeping Tinslee Lewis alive forever
Cases like Tinslee’s are not easy for anybody. Medical interventions are prolonging her death and causing her further pain and suffering without the hope of improving her condition.
What do we do when there are disagreements between doctors and families in these rare end-of-life scenarios? Should doctors follow the wishes of a family even when it means inflicting medical torture on a dying patient?
2019
Inflating Texas med-mal cap would slow physician growth, reverse post-reform gains, says expert
AUSTIN — On Monday, Texas House members heard testimony on HB 765, which seeks to collapse the fixed cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and adjust it for inflation each year.
William Hamm, a Ph.D. economist with the Berkeley Research Group told committee members that his research shows that indexing the cap will slow or even reverse the post-reform physician gains.
Baby Tinslee Lewis's case attracts attention from anti-abortion groups
Cases like Tinslee’s are not easy for anybody. Medical interventions are prolonging her death and causing her further pain and suffering without the hope of improving her condition.
Texas’ long-standing Medical Liability Reforms remain intact
For the eighth successive legislative session, Texas’s 2003 medical liability reforms emerged unscathed. Most importantly, we defeated a bill that would have indexed the non-economic damage cap.
This session was the most challenging and gratifying since 2003. Challenging because we were confronted with several troublesome bills; many of them filed by Republicans. Gratifying, because we were equal to the challenge by working together with trust, integrity, forward-thinking, and fair-mindedness.
Bringing transparency to lawyer health care advertising, Texas lawmakers hear testimony on HB 2251
Any daytime television watcher has most likely seen a lawyer advertisement, warning viewers of the dangers of a prescription drug. Concerned such ads might lead some to stop taking their meds, Texas lawmakers are now considering a bill that would bring transparency.
VIDEO TESTIMONY favoring HB 2251, (8 minutes 53 seconds)
A challenge to Texas’ Advance Directives Act ruled moot
Texas Advance Directives Act, passed in 1999, was a collaborative effort among many stakeholders. One of those original stakeholders, Texas Right to Life, attempted to invalidate the very statute they helped construct.
Link to Houston Chronicle:
Texas Licenses a record number of new physicians at the 16-year mark of Liability Reforms
The board licensed 246 more doctors this year than last, said Austin internist Howard Marcus, M.D, chairman of Texas Alliance For Patient Access.
“The state medical board is now licensing twice as many doctors per year than in the medical crisis years before lawsuit reforms were enacted,” said Marcus.
“Texas needs all of the high-quality doctors we can get, and we’re doing a good job of attracting them, “said Marcus.
In The Legislature HB 1693- Medical Expense Affidavit
Presently, the Texas statute relating to medical expense affidavits has a timeline that is advantageous to plaintiffs and unfair to defendants. The imbalance exists because plaintiffs can file medical affidavits early in the case and start a clock ticking for defendants to object to their admissibility before the defendant really understands the appropriateness of those medical bills.
VIDEO TESTIMONY presented in committee regarding HB 1693, (15 minutes and 32 seconds)
2018
TORT Reform Saved Texas Nursing Homes
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2018
Back in 2002, Manor Park, a not-for-profit in west Texas was paying $150,000 a year for a $1 million insurance policy. A year later they were quoted $465,000 for the same coverage. The board fully realized that they were one broken hip away from bankruptcy. This community was rated highly by state and national agencies and had a clean record regarding lawsuits. Alan Hale, CEO of Manor Park says without equivocation, "Texas tort reform saved our organization and the residents that we serve."
A fear of lawsuits really does seem to result in extra medical tests
New York Times
July 23, 2018
Doctors are known for complaining about how the malpractice systems adds costs. But it has been hard to prove, until now.
Researchers from Duke and M.I.T. found the possibility of a lawsuit increased the intensity of health care that patients received by about 5 percent –and that those patients who get the extra cost were no better off.
Medical Liability Reform Delivering Results for Texas Patients
Because of Proposition 12, medical care is more readily available. More Texans have more treatment options. Frivolous lawsuits have declined. Our courts are less burdened with suspect lawsuits. And what voters passed 15 years this month has become a model for the rest of the nation.
TMLT, Texas, and "Ten-Gallon Tort Reform
TMLT had the moral imperative to act both because it was the largest carrier in Texas and because of its relationship with the Texas Medical Association and Texas physician leadership. As chair of TMLT, I felt it was time to act. My prior personal experience with the injustice and imbalance of the medical liability tort system, when I had fought off a frivolous lawsuit, also played a major role in my decision to step up to the plate.
Texas continues to attract a large number of new physicians
The Texas Medical Board received a record 5,717 new physician applications and licensed a near-record number of new doctors for the fiscal year that ended last month. The 4,514 new licensees are the second highest on record, eclipsed only by the 4,719 new doctors licensed a year ago.
Texas has approved more than 50,000 new physicians since the passage of lawsuit reforms 15 years ago. This equates to 1,283 more new licensees per year than occurred during the medical liability crisis years of 2000-2003.
Medical Liability Reforms Key to Texas Patient Access
“Texas’ medical liability reforms have been nationally considered the gold standard for medical liability legislation,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “Tort reform has significantly reduced lawsuits and liability costs in our state and contributed greatly to the increasing number of doctors practicing in Texas.”
Employment Protections Preserved in Landmark Court Ruling
Medical school employees do not lose their immunity from lawsuits when providing patient care at private facilities, according to a ruling earlier this month by the Texas Supreme Court. The high court denied the plaintiff’s appeal on April 6, thus preserving the current law.
Hundreds of new residents planned could ease the doctor shortage in Texas
KERA-TV News
June 18, 2018
Texas turns out plenty of medical school graduates, but there are not enough residencies to help retain them, a local doctor says. And that imbalance is contributing to a shortage of physicians in the state.
That's why Medical City Healthcare, UNT Health Science Center, and HCA Healthcare are joining forces to create about 500 new residencies over the next five to seven years.
Why Texas needs more doctors
Texas Tort Reform continues to pay dividends for the quality of long-term care services
Back in 2002, Manor Park, a not-for-profit in west Texas was paying $150,000 a year for a $1 million insurance policy. A year later they were quoted $465,000 for the same coverage. The board fully realized that they were one broken hip away from bankruptcy. This community was rated highly by state and national agencies and had a clean record regarding lawsuits. Alan Hale, CEO of Manor Park says without equivocation, "Texas tort reform saved our organization and the residents that we serve."
Does immunity from medical malpractice lead to improved patient care?
The incidence of adverse medical events decreased significantly when physicians received sovereign immunity from medical malpractice claims at a Florida hospital, according to a study published in Health Management, Policy, and Innovation.
Improper jury charge nixes $1.9 million verdict
On May 25 the Texas Supreme Court tossed a $1.9 million judgment in a medical liability lawsuit over a botched hysterectomy. The high court ruled that the judge’s jury instructions improperly allowed the jury to consider an invalid theory of liability.
The Benge case marks the first instance where TAPA filed briefs not only in the Supreme Court but also in the court of appeals. Because the focus of the TAPA amicus brief was on the jury charge error, much of the arguments and citations to record cited in the Supreme Court opinion were taken directly from the TAPA brief. The TAPA amicus brief was instrumental in ensuring that Texas law on informed consent remains intact.
LIEN ON ME: Reimbursement rates ruling seen as game-changer for medical billing litigation
A recent Texas Supreme Court decision that forces a Houston hospital to disclose reimbursement rates charged to insured patients versus uninsured patients will almost certainly be felt in so-called hospital lien cases, some Texas attorneys believe the decision could be applied to a range of other civil cases in which the reasonableness of a party’s charges is at issue.
Judge lets one-of-a-kind 'futile care' law stand
By Todd Ackerman
September 22, 2017
Updated: September 23, 2017 1:23pm
In a victory for Texas' medical community, a Harris County state district judge Friday rejected a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that allows doctors to withdraw life-sustaining...
Are payout increases in Texas a brief upturn or a growing trend?
For the fifth consecutive year, Texas ranked near the bottom nationally in medical liability payouts per capita.
Last year only five states produced lower per capita payouts than Texas, according to data gleaned from the National Practitioner's Data Bank.
Texas Physicians inject billions into lone star state's economy
Texas Medical Association
January 8, 2018
New study shows physicians support more than 670,000 Texas jobs, and generate nearly $118 billion in economic activity “Whether in small towns or large cities, Texas doctors care for our Communities, ...
2017
Medical school on the cheap: why becoming a doctor in Texas is a bargain
Texas Tribune
October 30, 2017
When Caitlin Comfort decided to go to medical school, the Yale grad had her heart set on staying on the East Coast. But her wallet had different ideas. Facing $90,000 per year price tags for tuition, she said no thanks, and started applying to schools back home in Texas.
Publication Ranks Texas Second Nationally as Best Place to Practice Medicine
With rising rates of physician burnout, changing state legislation governing healthcare, and numerous other factors weighing heavily on the profession, many doctors are looking for a change to continue practicing medicine.
2017 Best States to Practice: The Top Five
Best States to Practice Interactive Map
Telemedicine services aid emergency care in rural Texas
By Joseph Goedert
Published October 30 2017, 7:51am EDT
A pilot program in Texas that went live 10 months ago is linking ambulance paramedics with five small hospitals in five expansive counties across a vast rural area of the state.
Texas continues to attract large numbers of new physicians
The Texas Medical Board licensed a record 4,719 new physicians for the fiscal year that ended last month. This year’s total is nearly 10% greater than the previous historic high of 4,295 set two years ago.
Texas has licensed 48,908 new physicians since the passage of lawsuit reforms 14 years ago. This equates to 1,283 more new licensees per year than occurred during the medical liability crisis years of 2000-2003.
“The trends are irrefutable,” said Austin internist Howard Marcus, chairman of Texas Alliance for Patient Access. “The number of licenses granted continues at record levels,” he said. “Physicians per capita continue to show significant gains which is no easy accomplishment given our fast-growing population.
Plaintiffs Avoiding Tort Reform
Court decision helps ensure patient access to care across state lines
by JAMES WILLIAMS, DO, MS, FACEP
A recent New Mexico Supreme Court decision has huge professional liability ramifications for physicians treating patients from another state. The March 13, 2017, the ruling is of importance to emergency physicians who, under EMTALA, are unable to deny a patient care due to illness, injury, inability to pay, or lack of health history.
The issue at stake in Montano v. Frezza was which state's laws claim legal jurisdiction when a patient who resides in one state (New Mexico, in this case) receives care in another (Texas, in this case).
See the published article in ACEPNow
Texas relaxes rules to allow out-of-state doctors to help Harvey victims
In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, some 213 out-of-state doctors have come to Texas working under a temporary license to provide disaster relief.
News accounts report that doctors and nurses have traveled from as far as Oregon, Ohio, and New Jersey to assist in the disaster response.
“Not only have these healthcare workers aided patients, but they’ve provided welcome relief to hard-working doctors and nurses in need of a break,” said Dr. Howard Marcus, chairman of Texas Alliance for Patient Access. “Often the care is rendered in less than ideal conditions due to damage from the storm,” he said.
On August 30, the governor waived all necessary statutes and rules allowing out-of-state doctors to obtain a temporary license.
Healthcare workers employed by a hospital, licensed, and in good standing in another state are eligible for temporary licensure. The temporary permit is good for 30 days.
The governor’s suspension will remain in effect until the disaster declaration is lifted or expires.
2017's Best and Worst States For Doctors
Wallet Hubb
Texas isn't just great for doctors; professionals across the medical field are thriving in the Lone Star State. In fact, Austin, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio rank among the best cities for registered nurses.
Texas doctor can't be sued in New Mexico, court rules
A former Texas Tech University surgeon accused of botching a Curry County woman’s gastric bypass surgery in 2004 can’t be sued for malpractice in New Mexico, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The state’s high court issued its decision Monday. “We reverse the Court of Appeals and the district court,” Justice Edward L. Chávez wrote in his majority opinion, which was signed onto by Justices Petra Jimenez Maes and Judith K. Nakamura and Judge Linda M. Vanzi, a Court of Appeals judge designated to hear the case. “The district court shall dismiss Montaño’s suit without prejudice.”
The case has garnered significant attention in both New Mexico and Texas, with three dozen doctor groups and hospitals in both states signing on to a friend of the court brief in 2015. They argued that allowing the lawsuit to move forward could have a disastrous effect on patient care in eastern New Mexico – where doctors are scarce – because it might make Texas providers reluctant to care for New Mexico patients.
High court ruling applauded
Albuquerque Journal, March 26, 2017
As a physician in Curry County, I often see the need for rural patients to seek care in nearby Texas. In some cases, care that is available less than an hour away in Texas could mean the difference between life and death.
There is only one hospital with a Level I trauma center that can provide comprehensive service – University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. New Mexico has no Level II trauma centers to collaborate with UNMH. When patients in rural parts of New Mexico receive emergency treatment and have been stabilized, they have two choices: A 3½-hour drive to Albuquerque, or about half that to two Level I trauma centers in Texas.
That’s why I applaud the New Mexico Supreme Court’s recent decision that recognizes that cross-border medical services in Texas are essential to New Mexico residents. This is the outcome of the court’s ruling that Texas physicians serving New Mexico patients in Texas will be able to serve...
Bill seeking to inflate Texas' med-mal cap first of its kind
SE Texas Record, April 24, 2017
AUSTIN – Since the courts were apparently no help, those wishing to inflate Texas’ medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages are now turning to the state legislature.
Without little to no fanfare, state Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) introduced House Bill 719 on Dec. 21, a piece of legislation seeking to collapse the fixed med-mal cap and adjust it for inflation each year.
“This is an issue of fundamental fairness,” said Wu, a private practice attorney. “If there’s no recovery, a lawyer won’t take the case. It’s a matter of justice for people. If people cannot have their grievances settled in the courts, then our system breaks down.”
The prospect of an inflated cap, which was set at $250,000 per medical defendant in 2003, has rallied some groups into action.
2016
Study ranks Texas 6th best state for docs, expert points to tort reform
A recent study found Texas is one of the best states for physicians to practice medicine, a high ranking made possible in part due to the passage of tort...
HB 270, the Out-of-State Access Provider Bill, signed into law by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez
New Mexico lawmakers crafted a legislative solution to protect access to medical care for the residents of Eastern and Southern New Mexico. For a Texas healthcare provider to benefit from the statute, it will be necessary for the healthcare provider to have in its agreement with the patient a choice of law and a choice of forum provision. If the agreement with the patient does not contain such a provision, then HB 270 will not apply.
The footnotes pertain to why we chose to include or exclude language.
This information should be used only in consultation with your attorney, who will advise you on how the language should be crafted for and used by your hospital, nursing home or physician practice.
New Mexico Legislature Acts to Protect Patients’ Access to Care in Texas
Texas doctors and hospitals will continue to receive a full range of liability protections even when treating New Mexico patients. That issue was in doubt until the New Mexico Legislature took decisive action February 17.
The legislation preserves vital access to Texas physicians and hospitals for residents of Eastern New Mexico who routinely cross the state line for care.
Clearly, the New Mexico legislature recognized that access to health care is a public policy priority. Without legislation, thousands of patients would lose ready access to primary and specialized care, said Dr. Howard Marcus, chairman of Texas Alliance for Patient Access.
2015
New Mexico Lawsuit Threatens Access to Care
November 24, 2015
Austin ranks among America’s best cities for registered nurses
The 10 Best Cities For Registered Nurses
Goodbye Standard of Care, Hello Reasonable Practice
The term “standard of care” has been misused and abused. It is time to replace it with a phrase that more accurately conveys the realities of modern medicine.
The legal definition of the “standard of care” is that which a reasonably competent and skilled physician would administer under the same or similar circumstances. Failing to meet the standard of care, one might argue, is simply another way of stating that a physician was negligent. However, it seems that many people don’t understand the nuance.
For these reasons, we propose that the term “standard of care” be retired and replaced with “reasonable practice.” The terms are legally equivalent, but “reasonable practice” is far less prone to misinterpretation by experts and juries.
Rape is not Health Care
The stunning headline might have caught your eye; it certainly caught mine. A big piece of it, though, is flat-out wrong. “Doctor accused in rape unlikely to be held liable in civil court,” the Houston Chronicle headline read. “The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that rape in some circumstances is covered by medical malpractice laws,” the author wrote further down in the story. Wrong. Texas Alliance for Patient Access Chair Howard Marcus, MD, set her straight. Here’s his statement in full: “Rape is reprehensible". Neither the legislature nor the courts gave medical liability protections to this criminal offense. Most recently, in Ross v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, the Texas Supreme Court set forth a seven-factor test to determine whether an injury was or wasn’t a healthcare claim. The Ross decision makes clear that rape is not related to the provision of health care, and is not a protected act simply because it occurred in a healthcare setting. The court has left no room for confusion.”
Historic Senate Vote Provides Medical Liability Protections
Standard of Care Language Included in Medicare 'Doc Fix' Bill / Soaring Eagle Award
The Effect of Malpractice Reform on Emergency Department Care
12-Years Post-Liability Reform, Texas Hits another Record in New Physicians
2014
RAND researchers say California's Prop 46 would likely reduce the state's physicians
Texas Near the Top in U.S. Physician Recruitment
Health Affairs Blog:
Dissecting the argument for and against California’s Proposition 46.
Academics say raising the cap would more likely increase health care costs than increase patient safety or quality of care.
2013
Tort Reformers and Trial Lawyers agree on bill that helps the injured
Texas Hospital Association: Celebrating 10 years of health care liability
2012
Physician Growth Spiking, Especially in Central Texas
Tort reform has had just the impact we desired
Study shows the increase in Texas doctors due to liability reforms
Healthy Signs: Record number of new doctors is good news in East Texas
Federal Judge Finds Texas Cap Constitutional
Texas physician population surges since Tort Reform Legislation in 2003
Healthy Benefits of Medical Liability Reform
A Tale of Two States
2011
Absurd and easily refutable: Refuting Texas Watch's claims
Increase in Texas physicians due to more than population growth
South Texas Record
Jon Opelt
An opinion piece issued by Alex Winslow of Texas Watch entitled "Spin-doctoring by doctors" (Dec. 1) is making its way around the state. The op/ed makes the absurd and easily refutable claim that "growth in (the number of Texas) physicians tracks population increases."
In 2003 Texas passed a series of medical lawsuit reforms. Since then the growth in in-state physicians has outpaced population growth by 84 percent.
Thanks for the doctors, New York
Better Care, Thanks to Tort Reform
2009
Texas tort reform lures doctors
2008
Texas hospitals reinvesting savings from Medical Liability Reform
Tort reform will rescue doctors
2007
More doctors in Texas after Malpractice Caps
More doctors mean tort reform efforts worked
Influx of doctors overwhelms Texas Board
2006
Study: 4 in 10 medical malpractice cases groundless
Doctors face Texas medical board's watchful eye
2005
Contrary to what study says, malpractice lawsuits drive costs
AMA takes Texas off its liability crisis list
Law school review produces 'Legislative Intent Roadmap' on Texas' landmark lawsuit reforms
