TEXAS UPDATE!
by Chamberlain♦McHaney
TEXAS LAWYERS
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.”
♦ ♦ ♦
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.
♦ ♦ ♦
Chamberlain♦McHaney is A-V (highest) Rated by
Martindale-Hubble and is listed in A.M. Best’s Directory of Recommended
Attorneys.
David E.
Chamberlain
Chamberlain♦McHaney
Austin & San Antonio
512-474-9124