George Christian, President of the Texas Civil Justice League, said that Senate Bill 30 would equip juries with the necessary tools to make more rational and evidence-based decisions in personal injury cases. Christian made this statement on the Justice League's website.
"There is no conspiracy, no hidden agenda," said Christian. "The bill simply outlines what the jury needs to know in order to reach a more objective, rational, and evidence-based determination. If the Legislature enacts the bill, it will result in Texas juries being given the relevant information they need in order to make reasoned decisions that will hold up on appeal."
According to LegiScan, Senate Bill 30 aims to amend Section 18.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code to reform how damages, particularly medical expenses, are presented and contested in civil actions. The bill seeks to curb "nuclear verdicts" and inflated healthcare charges by setting stricter evidentiary standards for proving the reasonableness and necessity of medical costs. While these changes aim to promote fairness and reduce legal abuse, they could also restrict access to full compensation for injury victims.
The Texas Civil Justice League reports that a key provision of SB 30 targets the increasing use of "letters of protection" and similar arrangements that allow personal injury plaintiffs to bypass the "paid or incurred" standard by inflating medical charges beyond typical market rates. Instead of capping damages, the bill introduces evidentiary guardrails, such as tying recoverable expenses to actual payments or 300% of Medicare rates, to curb litigation-driven price distortion. Critics argue this undermines injured claimants; however, supporters contend it restores balance by ensuring juries see real costs rather than artificially inflated ones.
Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) report that nuclear verdicts are jury awards exceeding $10 million, typically seen in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. These often include large sums for noneconomic and punitive damages. Such outsized awards are fueled by tactics like jury anchoring and the Reptile Theory, which aim to provoke juror outrage rather than rely on objective evidence. In 2023, nuclear verdicts nationwide reached a 15-year high, with Texas alone responsible for six of the top ten verdicts, highlighting growing concerns over their economic impact on businesses, insurance rates, and consumer costs.
Christian is a longtime president of the Texas Civil Justice League and a leading advocate for legal reform in Texas. With a legal career spanning over 35 years, he also teaches English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. Christian holds both a J.D. from UT’s School of Law and a Ph.D. in English Literature.