By: Thompson of Harris, Murr, Davis, et al. H.B. No. 3158
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the recovery 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. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the
Christion Fitzgerald Act.
SECTION 2. Section 408.001(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) This section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary
damages by the surviving spouse, [or] heirs of the body, or the
estate of a deceased employee whose death was caused by an
intentional act or omission of the employer or by the employer's
gross negligence.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.