New limits for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits may become a reality in Texas

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A proposal to limit how much an accident victim can recover in lawsuits for medical care won preliminary approval from the Texas House on Monday, but not without changes that leave open monetary awards beyond medical bills and preserve the court’s ability to decide what evidence is relevant.

The bill passed 94-52 on Monday with the support of at least five Democrats.

Senate Bill 30, authored by Georgetown Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner, intends to curb “nuclear verdicts,” or jury rulings that award victims more than $10 million, which proponents say makes doing business in Texas unpredictable.

If the proposal becomes law, those who sue in personal injury or wrongful death cases can submit only the amount paid for medical services, and directs juries to limit the amount of damages based on a set of options such as the maximum that can be charged to Medicare.

The bill was a priority of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a well-funded group representing oil and energy companies that has spent the last two decades trying to curb what they see as frivolous lawsuits.

For the bill to become law, the House must vote on it again. Then the Senate must agree to changes, or request a committee hash out differences.

At a committee hearing in April, business owners shared their experiences of getting sued in accidents where the damage appeared minimal — according to poster-sized photos they brought to the hearing — but the damages sought were in the millions.

Opponents argued that there’s already an appeals process in the civil lawsuit process that parties can use to reduce the damages owed.

The bill overcame resistance from some conservative activists who previously supported the efforts by Texas for Lawsuit Reform’s namely, restricting medical malpractice lawsuits.

The version of the bill that passed the House removed language that drew concern from opponents, such as a provision that would have barred juries from awarding money for “noneconomic damages” such as mental anguish. That was raised by some accident victims and sexual assault survivors who said the impacts of their injuries could not be placed neatly into the economic damage categories the previous version of the bill outlined.

On the House floor Monday, lawmakers also approved an amendment by Rep. Greg Bonnen, R-Friendsburg, who is carrying the bill in the House, to remove a portion of the bill that would have only allowed damages on services that have health care industry billing codes, which not all services an accident victim needs would have.

Another Bonnen amendment changed the requirement for an itemized list by the provider of a plaintiff to a summary list. Lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to further narrow that requirement, though an amendment by Rep. Matt Morgan, R-Richmond, reaffirming privacy protections between doctors and patients, and attorneys and clients was adopted.

A pair of amendments by Reps. Mitch Little, a Lewisville Republican, and Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, also passed, over the objection of Bonnen, to no longer require some evidence related to medical history be automatically admitted. The amended bill leaves it to a judge to decide whether the evidence is relevant – something Bonnen said defeated the purpose of that part of the bill.

The Texas Trial Lawyers Association, which lobbied for months against the bill, said the changes since it was first introduced were a sign of how Texans felt about efforts to curb lawsuits.

“This result sends a clear message that Texans of all walks of life support the fundamental value of accountability embodied in our civil justice system,” Jack Walker, president of the association, said in a statement.

Disclosure: Texans for Lawsuit Reform and Texas Trial Lawyers Association have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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