A review of the Texas Supreme Court cases of Speegle v. Harris Methodist Health System and Haygood V. De Escabedo leads to the inescapable conclusion that while a Texas hospital may elect not to bill Medicare it is nonetheless limited to the Medicare rate when filing hospital liens against Medicare…
Austin Federal District Judge Lee Yeakel recently issued an opinion that the provision in Texas’ recent anti-abortion statute requiring that doctors performing abortions must have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals violates the Constitution. Judge Yeakel wrote that the requirement unreasonably restricts a wonan’s access to abortion clinic and the rights…
Texas House Bill 1869 was passed by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Governor Perry creating CPRC 140 which limits health insurance subrogation. After the Texas Supreme Court opinion in Fortis which effectively eliminated the Made Whole Doctrine health insurers were free to charge the usual exorbitant premiums,…
A Parker County jury has awarded $5.2 million dollars to a motorcycle rider who lost his leg a result of injuries he sustained in a wreck with an automobile. The wreck occurred in October of 2010 when and elderly driver proceeded down Interstate 20 going the wrong direction and struck…
We tried another jury trial in Smith County this week. The case involved some pretty serious injuries arising out of a car wreck that occurred when the Defendant blew a stop sign and ran out into a highway. The impact was severe. The Defendants auto liability insurance company made a…
The recent explosion of Adair Grain fertilizer plant in West, Texas, gives rise to a complicated set of legal claims including wrongful death claims, survival claims, worker’s compensation claims for medical and wages benefits, worker’s compensation gross negligence death claims, and ordinary negligence claims. The employees of Adair Grain, Inc.,…
The U.S. Supreme Court in WOS v. E.M.A. interpreted the Medicaid anti-lien statute set forth at 42 U.S.C. 1396p(a)(1), to limit the amount that Medicaid may recover from a tort settlement or judgment to a proportional share of the recovery. The statute states that Medicaid may not take any portion…
Effective March 1, 2010, the Texas Supreme Court changed the requirements regarding Rule 902 self-authenticating medical expense affidavits. The following is an example of an affidavit that should meet the requirements of the new Rule 902(10)(c): AFFIDAVIT OF CUSTODIAN OF MEDICAL/BILLING RECORDS HEALTHCARE PROVIDER: ____________________ PATIENT: ______________________ BEFORE ME, the…
Ford recently recalled over 19,000 defective Fusions because of a headlight defect. It seems that the reflectors in the low beam headlights which are in use most of the time became hazy over time causing the brightness of the headlights to gradually decrease and create a safety hazard. This is…
For the second time the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case of Michelle Gaines. In 2006, 19 year old Michelle Gaines was a popular, athletic young lady who had received a soccer scholarship from Hill College. On June 19, 2006, an 18-wheeler hauling an oil rig ran a…