What happened: On March 31, the Senate State Affairs Committee held a hearing on SB 30, Sen. Charles Schwertner’s lawsuit abuse reform bill. The all-day hearing, which lasted past midnight, included testimony from witness after witness who shared their personal stories and firsthand experiences of lawsuit abuse in Texas, underscoring the dire need for reform in the state.

By the numbers: According to an August 2023 LexisNexis survey of personal injury victims, 71% of respondents reported their attorney encouraged them to seek additional treatment, and 25% said their attorney was primarily responsible for setting their medical treatment. Almost half of respondents said their attorneys were involved in selecting doctors’ offices and determining specialists they saw.

In his words: “If [lawsuit abuse] does not stop, the Texas Miracle will stop.” – Lee Parsley, President and General Counsel, Texans for Lawsuit Reform 

TLR Thoughts: Members of the Lone Star Economic Alliance showed up in force at the March 31 Senate State Affairs Committee hearing to support SB 30, which would restore transparency and fairness to Texas’s courts. Notably, SB 30 includes reforms that will (1) encourage doctors to treat accident victims; (2) stop the manipulation and inflation of medical damages; and (3) educate jurors on noneconomic damages by providing clear standards and definitions.

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