| 1 | 1 | | 84R792 SCL-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 956 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the scope of a health care liability claim. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Sections 74.001(a)(2) and (13), Civil Practice |
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| 10 | 10 | | and Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (2) "Claimant" means a patient [person], including a |
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| 12 | 12 | | deceased patient's [decedent's] estate, seeking or who has sought |
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| 13 | 13 | | recovery of damages in a health care liability claim. In a cause of |
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| 14 | 14 | | action in which a party seeks recovery of damages related to injury |
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| 15 | 15 | | to another person who is a patient, or other harm to the patient, |
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| 16 | 16 | | "claimant" includes both the patient and the party seeking recovery |
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| 17 | 17 | | of damages. [All persons claiming to have sustained damages as the |
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| 18 | 18 | | result of the bodily injury or death of a single person are |
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| 19 | 19 | | considered a single claimant.] |
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| 20 | 20 | | (13) "Health care liability claim" means a cause of |
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| 21 | 21 | | action against a health care provider or physician for treatment, |
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| 22 | 22 | | lack of treatment, or other claimed departure from accepted |
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| 23 | 23 | | standards of medical care, or health care, or safety directly |
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| 24 | 24 | | related to health care, or professional or administrative services |
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| 25 | 25 | | directly related to health care, which proximately results in |
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| 26 | 26 | | injury to or death of a claimant, whether the claimant's claim or |
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| 27 | 27 | | cause of action sounds in tort or contract. The term does not |
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| 28 | 28 | | include claims arising from an injury to or death of a person who is |
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| 29 | 29 | | not a patient, including employment and premises liability claims. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. The amendment to Section 74.001, Civil Practice |
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| 31 | 31 | | and Remedies Code, by this Act is intended to clarify rather than |
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| 32 | 32 | | change existing law. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 34 | 34 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 35 | 35 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 36 | 36 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 37 | 37 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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