87R7717 RDS-F
By: Thompson of Harris, Murr, Davis H.B. No. 3158
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to standing for receipt of exemplary damages based on a
compensable death under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 408.001(b) and (c), Labor Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary
damages by the surviving spouse, parents, or heirs of the body of a
deceased employee whose death was caused by an intentional act or
omission of the employer or by the employer's gross negligence. The
surviving spouse, parents, and heirs of the body of the deceased
employee may bring the action or one or more of those individuals
may bring the action for the benefit of all.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Gross[, "gross] negligence" has the meaning
assigned by Section 41.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(2) "Parent" includes an adoptive parent or a
stepparent. The term does not include a parent whose parental
rights have been terminated.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a claim for workers' compensation benefits based on a
compensable injury that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. A claim based on a compensable injury that occurs before
that date is governed by the law in effect on the date that the
compensable injury occurred, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.