Thomas Fee, founding partner of Fee, Smith & Sharp LLP, has commented on Senate Bill 30, a tort reform bill. According to Fee, the bill aims to curb the inflation of medical bills through collusion between trial lawyers and providers, which turns litigation into a profit center.
"Under current law, “plaintiff's lawyers will conspire with health care providers who over-diagnose, over-treat, and overbill for the services provided to plaintiffs, avoiding compliance with the ‘paid or incurred' statute and turning medical bills into a litigation profit center.” Senate Comm. on State Affairs, Bill Analysis, Tex. S.B. 30, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025," said Fee. "Defendants struggle to contest inflated claims and challenge unreasonable awards, which may contribute to rising costs in legal proceedings, complicating the pursuit of fair and equitable outcomes. Id. Senate Bill 30 is intended to address enormous and unfair verdicts caused by manipulation of medical damages to present vastly inflated medical bills to juries and disproportionately large awards of noneconomic damages."
In a blog post, Fee explained that Senate Bill 30 (S.B. 30) seeks to address inflated medical damages and noneconomic awards in personal injury lawsuits by increasing transparency and tightening evidentiary standards. The bill redefines how damages are calculated and contested by introducing detailed disclosure requirements for plaintiffs, including referral relationships and financial arrangements between attorneys and healthcare providers. It also sets new admissibility rules for medical evidence, codifies definitions for noneconomic damages like mental anguish and pain, and limits prejudgment interest to the date losses are actually incurred.
A study from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform highlighted that Texas ranks among the top five states for nuclear verdicts. From 2013 to 2022, there were 130 personal injury and wrongful death cases resulting in $16 billion in awards. The study pointed out that "anchoring" tactics—where attorneys suggest arbitrary high-dollar damage amounts—played a significant role in inflating jury awards. An example involved a $39 million verdict in an auto accident case after a plaintiff’s lawyer proposed a symbolic per-mile damage figure; the Texas Supreme Court later overturned it due to improper tactics. These excessive awards contribute to higher insurance premiums and consumer costs while undermining fairness in the legal system.
According to a report from the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), Texas is a major hub for legal services advertising. Dallas and Houston both rank in the top ten U.S. media markets for total spending on these ads in 2024. Dallas saw approximately $69.8 million spent on 622,212 ads, while Houston accounted for over $56.6 million in spending on more than 411,000 ads. These figures reflect a broader national surge in trial lawyer advertising, which reached $2.5 billion across the U.S. last year—more than double what pizza restaurants spent.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) and Munich Re US released a survey indicating that most Americans believe certain plaintiff lawyer tactics contribute to rising insurance and consumer goods costs. The Harris Poll conducted among over 2,000 U.S. adults revealed that 69% think third-party litigation funding (TPLF) and jury anchoring increase insurance costs, while 66% say these practices raise prices of everyday items. Additionally, 77% agree that allowing foreign investors to participate in TPLF could pose a national security threat.
Thomas Fee is known as a trial attorney with extensive experience representing clients in high-stakes litigation across Texas and the U.S., with over three decades of experience including more than 75 jury trials as lead counsel.