Liability

The bedrock of the medicine-backed 2003 tort reform legislation in Texas was a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical negligence lawsuits. The cap has faced constant legal challenges since its passage, and the latest attempt, due to go to trial Feb. 4, could drag on for months – and may even end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Biden administration’s previously announced plan to make booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccines available as soon as Sept. 20 – which came and went on Monday without that availability – has raised questions among physicians about liability for giving the extra shots before they are fully approved.

Under Texas law, physicians treating COVID-19 patients in a volunteer capacity have potential defenses against lawsuits that might arise from that care.

Many Texas physicians have stepped up to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes retired physicians and others who have volunteered their services in areas where they are needed most. If you’d like to volunteer but are concerned about your potential liability, check out TMA's recent white paper.

Texas Medical Liability Trust (TMLT), the largest medical liability insurance provider in Texas, has announced several changes to help members care for COVID-19 patients and to offer relief from financial hardships related to the pandemic. 

A recent appeals court decision could weaken a key piece of Texas’ 2003 medical liability reforms meant to cut frivolous lawsuits off at the head. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed last week, TMA and Texas Alliance for Patient Access (TAPA) tell the Texas Supreme Court that the law narrowly limits the amount of discovery – the exchange of information in a court case – before the person suing must produce an expert report. And there’s good reason for that, the groups say.

Without the cap, what is tort reform, exactly? Texas physicians hope they won’t have to answer that question. But a couple that won a 2019 negligence lawsuit is taking aim at the centerpiece of the state’s 2003 medical liability reforms: the $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages.

Thanks to the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Perkins v. Skapek, physicians employed by a government institution still can perform clinical duties at a non-government facility without giving up immunity from lawsuits.