A major development out of the Texas Legislature is poised to bring meaningful change to the landscape of personal injury litigation—and insurance defense attorneys should take note.

Senate Bill 30, recently passed by the Texas House, would limit recoverable medical damages in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits to the amounts actually paid for medical treatment, rather than the often-inflated amounts billed. The goal is to reduce these “nuclear verdicts,” which have created uncertainty for businesses and insurers in both liberal and conservative counties in the state of Texas. By tying damage awards to more objective metrics like Medicare rates, the bill introduces a fairer and more consistent standard for evaluating medical costs in litigation.

For those who defend insurance carriers and insureds, this legislation represents a step toward leveling the playing field. Plaintiffs will no longer be able to present inflated medical billing as a basis for extraordinary damages. The bill also makes several practical changes to the discovery and evidence process, shifting from itemized billing requirements to summary billing, preserving judicial discretion on the admissibility of certain medical history, and reaffirming privacy protections between patients, doctors, and attorneys. These changes help defense counsel focus more on the merits of the case and less on battling excessive or speculative medical figures.