HOT OFF THE PRESS: 2007 TEXAS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE! We prepared this report for the upcoming State Bar of Texas Advanced Personal Injury Law Course. Discover what our legislature did and did not do regarding the Texas tort, insurance and civil justice systems in the recently concluded 80th legislative session. Find out about bills affecting the “paid or incurred” statute, consolidated insurance programs, construction law, the court system, civil practices and remedies, juries, auto insurance and contractual indemnity. Find out about the new legal aspects of oysters, paintball, remote controlled airplanes and more. Almost nothing escaped the reach of our solons this year. This review is so up to date it even includes all the bills that the Governor signed and vetoed this past weekend…and our Guv knows how to veto a bill.
Respond to this email, and we will email you back a free copy. Also available free upon request is our 2007 AUTO INSURANCE UPDATE which reviews the year’s big court decisions.
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TEXAS SUPREME COURT UPDATE! COURT RULES HOSPITAL CANNOT RECOVER CHARGES FROM THIRD PARTY TORTFEASOR IN EXCESS OF WHAT IT HAS ACCEPTED FROM PATIENTS’ WORKERS COMPENSATION CARRIER. After treating two patients who were injured in an on-the-job automobile accident, Providence Hospital charged $22,704.35 for “reasonable and necessary medical expenses.” The hospital then accepted a mere $9,737.54 from the patients’ workers compensation carrier in payment of those expenses. The hospital then filed a lien for its full charges with the county clerk, which attached to the patients’ lawsuit against the other driver, John Paul Jones. The patients suit against Jones was eventually settled for $175,000, but Jones’ auto insurer paid $12,966.71 of that amount directly to the hospital to discharge its lien ($22,704.55 – $9,737.54 = $12,966.71).
The patients then sued the hospital to recover that $12,966.71, arguing that the hospital cannot recover the discount from its full charges by filing a lien against the patients’ recovery against a third party. The Supremes agreed, holding that since the Texas Labor Code prohibits hospitals from suing their patients for the discounted charges, they cannot accomplish indirectly (by filing a lien) what they could not do directly (by filing suit). Daughters of Charity v Linnstaedter (Tex. 2007).
Although the injured parties won this suit against the hospital, the Texas plaintiffs bar is up in arms over the case. They have filed an amicus brief asking the court to reconsider language in the opinion which, they claim, appears to judicially validate the “paid or incurred” statute contained in the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. The plaintiffs bar claims that the “paid or incurred” statute was not an issue in this particular case, and as such, the court should not have addressed whether it is, or is not, enforceable. No word yet upon whether the court will reconsider.
The “paid or incurred statute” was passed by the Texas Legislature as part of its tort reform package back in 2003. It provides: “…recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant.”
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THIS WEEK, Chamberlain♦McHaney won a summary judgment for a real estate brokerage firm and its agent who were alleged to have misrepresented the terms of a real estate contract. The plaintiffs sought over $100,000 in damages, fees and expenses. David Chamberlain and Brad Compere handled this successful defense.
We will cover these and other important cases at our full day, fully accredited 12th ANNUAL ULTIMATE CLAIMS HANDLING SEMINAR scheduled for October 5, 2007 at CityPlace Conference Center in Dallas, Texas. We are famous for our legal education and, most of all, our spacious free parking. Registrations will be available beginning in August. Mark your calendar now.