SB 679 by Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) has been scheduled for public hearing at Monday’s meeting of the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. SB 679 is one of several bills filed this session to address problems with the current requirement that medical billing records be filed with the clerk of the court along with the statutory affidavit sworn by the custodian of the records. This requirement has placed a significant burden on courts without any corresponding benefit to the parties in the litigation.
SB 679 provides that only the affidavit itself need be filed with the clerk. The affidavit and the attached records must still be served on the opposing party, as current law requires. In response to some early concerns that SB 679 might affect the Texas Supreme Court’s ruling in Escabedo, Sen. Duncan clarified SB 679 to specify that a reference in the affidavit to medical charges not recoverable (because they were not paid or incurred) in the litigation may not be admitted into evidence. TCJL supports SB 679, which promotes the efficient use of judicial resources.
