Bill Text: TX SB232 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to service of expert reports for health care liability claims.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-30 - Effective on 9/1/21 [SB232 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB232-Enrolled.html
| S.B. No. 232 | ||
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| relating to service of expert reports for health care liability | ||
| claims. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 51.014(a), Civil Practice and Remedies | ||
| Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
| (a) A person may appeal from an interlocutory order of a | ||
| district court, county court at law, statutory probate court, or | ||
| county court that: | ||
| (1) appoints a receiver or trustee; | ||
| (2) overrules a motion to vacate an order that | ||
| appoints a receiver or trustee; | ||
| (3) certifies or refuses to certify a class in a suit | ||
| brought under Rule 42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; | ||
| (4) grants or refuses a temporary injunction or grants | ||
| or overrules a motion to dissolve a temporary injunction as | ||
| provided by Chapter 65; | ||
| (5) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based | ||
| on an assertion of immunity by an individual who is an officer or | ||
| employee of the state or a political subdivision of the state; | ||
| (6) denies a motion for summary judgment that is based | ||
| in whole or in part upon a claim against or defense by a member of | ||
| the electronic or print media, acting in such capacity, or a person | ||
| whose communication appears in or is published by the electronic or | ||
| print media, arising under the free speech or free press clause of | ||
| the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, or Article | ||
| I, Section 8, of the Texas Constitution, or Chapter 73; | ||
| (7) grants or denies the special appearance of a | ||
| defendant under Rule 120a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, except | ||
| in a suit brought under the Family Code; | ||
| (8) grants or denies a plea to the jurisdiction by a | ||
| governmental unit as that term is defined in Section 101.001; | ||
| (9) denies all or part of the relief sought by a motion | ||
| under Section 74.351(b), except that an appeal may not be taken from | ||
| an order granting an extension under Section 74.351; | ||
| (10) grants relief sought by a motion under Section | ||
| 74.351(l); | ||
| (11) denies a motion to dismiss filed under Section | ||
| 90.007; | ||
| (12) denies a motion to dismiss filed under Section | ||
| 27.003; | ||
| (13) denies a motion for summary judgment filed by an | ||
| electric utility regarding liability in a suit subject to Section | ||
| 75.0022; [ |
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| (14) denies a motion filed by a municipality with a | ||
| population of 500,000 or more in an action filed under Section | ||
| 54.012(6) or 214.0012, Local Government Code; or | ||
| (15) makes a preliminary determination on a claim | ||
| under Section 74.353. | ||
| SECTION 2. Sections 74.351(a) and (c), Civil Practice and | ||
| Remedies Code, are 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 is filed or a later date required under Section 74.353, 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 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. | ||
| (c) If an expert report has not been served within the | ||
| period specified by Subsection (a) because elements of the report | ||
| are found deficient, the court may grant one 30-day extension to the | ||
| claimant in order to cure the deficiency. If the claimant does not | ||
| receive notice of the court's ruling granting the extension until | ||
| after the applicable [ |
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| extension shall run from the date the plaintiff first received the | ||
| notice. | ||
| SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 74, Civil Practice and | ||
| Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 74.353 to read as | ||
| follows: | ||
| Sec. 74.353. PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION FOR EXPERT REPORT | ||
| REQUIREMENT. (a) On motion of a claimant filed not later than 30 | ||
| days after the date each defendant's original answer is filed, a | ||
| court may issue a preliminary determination regarding whether a | ||
| claim made by the claimant is a health care liability claim for the | ||
| purposes of Section 74.351. | ||
| (b) If a court determines under Subsection (a) or (c) that a | ||
| claim is a health care liability claim for purposes of Section | ||
| 74.351, the claimant shall serve an expert report as required by | ||
| Section 74.351 not later than the later of: | ||
| (1) 120 days after the date each defendant's original | ||
| answer is filed; | ||
| (2) 60 days after the date the court issues the | ||
| preliminary determination under Subsection (a) or (c); or | ||
| (3) a date agreed to in writing by the affected | ||
| parties. | ||
| (c) If a court does not issue a preliminary determination | ||
| under Subsection (a) before the 91st day after the date that a | ||
| claimant files a motion under that subsection, the court shall | ||
| issue a preliminary determination that the claim is a health care | ||
| liability claim for the purposes of Section 74.351. | ||
| (d) A preliminary determination under this section is | ||
| subject to interlocutory appeal by either the claimant or | ||
| defendant. | ||
| (e) If on interlocutory appeal an appellate court reverses a | ||
| trial court's preliminary determination that a claim is not a | ||
| health care liability claim, the claimant shall serve an expert | ||
| report as required by Section 74.351 not later than 120 days after | ||
| the date that the appellate court issues an opinion reversing the | ||
| preliminary determination. | ||
| (f) A preliminary determination under this section applies | ||
| only to the issue of whether a claimant is required to serve an | ||
| expert report under Section 74.351. | ||
| SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
| to an action commenced on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| An action commenced before the effective date of this Act is | ||
| governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective | ||
| date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that | ||
| purpose. | ||
| SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 232 passed the Senate on | ||
| April 19, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that S.B. No. 232 passed the House on | ||
| May 13, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 83, Nays 60, one present | ||
| not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| Approved: | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
