Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Through political action, legal, academic and market research, and grassroots initiatives, TLR fights for common-sense reforms that keep Texas open for business.

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For the Record

Anatomy of a Cottage Industry

Over the past few weeks, we’ve highlighted the phenomenon of nuclear verdicts in Texas, and some of the questionable tactics used by personal injury trial lawyers pursuing trucking litigation in the Lone Star State. While trucking litigation has always existed, it seems a new cottage industry has sprung up in the last several years.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, trucking is big business in Texas:

  • 1 in 16 Texans are employed by the trucking industry
  • 73% of goods manufactured in Texas are transported by truck
  • 85% of trade between Texas and Mexico is handled by trucks
  • Texas has more interstate mileage than other state (3,200 miles)
  • There are over 66,000 trucking industries in Texas
  • Trucking industry wages exceed $22.5 billion with average salary of $45,000
  • There are over 185,000 truck drivers employed in Texas

But what is it about the trucking industry, specifically, that landed it in the litigation crosshairs? To answer this question, all you have to do is follow the money.

While you and I may only have $30,000 in motor vehicle liability insurance, trucking companies often have multi-million-dollar insurance policies. In other words, they have deep pockets. 

While it makes sense for trucking companies to carry a lot of insurance because accidents involving trucks tend to be more serious than those involving smaller vehicles, we’ve seen instances where the truck involved in the accident wasn’t at fault and the carrier still got sued. 

Personal injury trial lawyers just cannot resist a deep pocket.

The increase in litigation has been so drastic that trucking companies are facing significant insurance rate hikes. As we all know, the increased cost of insurance is passed along to consumers in the form of increased prices for goods—yet another example of the Tort Tax at work. Because transportation costs are a meaningful component of the retail prices of consumer products, the costs of unnecessary lawsuits and unreasonable verdicts will ultimately be borne by Texas consumers.

With the outsized role trucking plays in Texas’ economy, we are hopeful the Legislature will take a close look at trucking litigation in the 2021 legislative session.

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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 weeks ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Trucking officials and tort reform advocates in Texas have introduced legislation seeking to end schemes between plaintiff attorneys and doctors under which medical costs related to truck accidents are overstated in court litigation, a practice that critics charge is contributing to a rise in large jury verdicts and lawsuit settlements against trucking companies. Read and share: bit.ly/38XtgRz ... See MoreSee Less

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Texas Truckers Fight Inflated Medical Costs in Litigation

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Trucking officials and tort reform advocates in Texas have introduced legislation seeking to end schemes between plaintiff attorneys and doctors under which medical costs related to truck accidents ar...
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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 weeks ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

“Our goals are simply to improve the fairness and efficiency of Florida’s civil justice system, to relieve parties from the expense and burdens of meritless litigation, and to save the work of juries for cases where there are real factual disputes that need resolution.” Read and share: bit.ly/3595BN3 ... See MoreSee Less

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Florida Supreme Court delivers the ‘Holy Grail of lawsuit reform’ in Thursday ruling

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The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday revamped a key legal standard as its conservative majority continued to show a willingness to undo previous decisions that have guided the state’s courts. “Ou...
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Texans for Lawsuit Reform

3 weeks ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Some prominent business defense lawyers, reacting to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about the relatively paltry number of COVID-19 exposure lawsuits to date, say we are merely at the starting gate for virus-related injury claims. Read and share: bit.ly/3b7TvYg ... See MoreSee Less

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Business defense attorneys warn that dearth of Covid exposure lawsuits no barometer for what’s coming

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Some prominent business defense lawyers, reacting to a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report about the relatively paltry number of Covid-19 exposure lawsuits to date, say we are merely at the starti...
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lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
22 Jan 1352739089573945344

Sign up for the TLR Weekly News Roundup to receive a daily digest of headlines & news stories about lawsuit reform from Texas & around the country!

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lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
22 Jan 1352663609717960705

#ICYMI: Trucking officials & #tortreform advocates in Texas introduced legislation seeking to end schemes between plaintiff attorneys & doctors under which medical costs related to truck accidents are overstated in court litigation. Read & RT: #tortreform

Texas Truckers Fight Inflated Medical Costs in Litigation

Trucking officials and tort reform advocates in Texas have introduced legislation seeking to end schemes between plaintiff attorneys and doctors under...

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lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
21 Jan 1352391794013700096

TLR has thousands of supporters across Texas who are committed to a fair and balanced civil justice system. Join our team today!

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Texans for Lawsuit Reform has thousands of supporters from across Texas who are committed to a fair and balanced civil justice system.

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Texans for Lawsuit Reform
1701 Brun Street
Houston, Texas 77019

Ph. 713-963-9363
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