By: Estes S.B. No. 1521
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the determination of expert reports in a health care
liability claim for the purposes of certain laws governing those
claims.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 74.001(a)(13), Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows:
(13) "Health care liability claim" means a cause of
action against a health care provider or physician for treatment,
lack of treatment, or other claimed departure from accepted
standards of medical care, or health care, or safety or
professional or administrative services directly related to health
care, which proximately results in injury to or death of a claimant,
whether the claimant's claim or cause of action sounds in tort or
contract. The term does not include a cause of action described by
Section 406.033(a) or 408.001(b), Labor Code, against an employer
by an employee or the employee's surviving spouse or heir.
SECTION 2. Section 74.351(a), Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) In a health care liability claim, a claimant
shall, not later than the 120th day after the date each defendant's
original answer if filed, serve on that party or the party's
attorney one or more expert reports, with a curriculum vitae of each
expert listed in the report for each physician or health care
provider against whom a liability claim is asserted. The report
shall address at least one theory of direct liability asserted
against each physician or health care provider if a direct theory of
liability is asserted. The date for serving the report may be
extended by written agreement of the affected parties. Each
defendant physician or health care provider whose conduct is
implicated in a report must file and serve any objection to the
sufficiency of the report not later than the later of the 21st day
after the date the report is served or the 21st day after the date
the defendant's answer is filed, failing which all objections are
waived.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. A cause of action that accrues before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.