The original Medicare statute, 42 U.S.C. 1395, contains no provisions for a Medicare set aside in liability cases. The original statute provided for a set aside in worker’s compensation cases and those provisions have been extended by policy but not by regulation to liability cases. The CMS website has memos…
The United States Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. set forth the factors to be considered when determining the admissibility of expert scientific testimony. The factors are the degree to which the scientific theory has been or is subject to being verified by testing, the degree to…
The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Arkansas Department Of Human Services v. Ahlborn, 547 U.S. 268 (2006), has open the door for the made whole doctrine to be applied to Texas Medicaid subrogation. Historically, prior to the Ahlborn, Texas Medicaid largely refused to reduce their subrogation interest even if…
I frequently hear people say that in Texas medical malpractice damages are capped at $250,000. This is incorrect. The $250,000 damage cap refers to the cap on noneconomic damages recoverable from a single physician, health care provider, or heath care institution. Texas medical malpractice damage caps are set forth in…
For as long as anyone who is alive today can remember an accident victim in Texas has had a right to recover the reasonable amount of their accident related medical expenses. Then in 2003 the insurance lobby, the so-called Texans for Lawsuit Reform, sought to limit victims to recovering only…
During the last several sessions of the Texas Legislature the changes to the medical negligence laws have been substantial. Generally, health care liability claims have a two year statute of limitations which does not begin to run on minors until their eighteenth birthday. There are a variety of caveats and…