State News : Texas

NWCDN is a network of law firms dedicated to protecting employers in workers’ compensation claims.


NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.  


Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.


Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.


Texas

STONE LOUGHLIN & SWANSON, LLP

  512-343-1385

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, adopted a new rule, 28 TAC §140.9, which took effect on January 7, 2019, requiring that parties seeking to reset, reschedule, or continue any proceeding include with their requests a signed statement that reasonable efforts were made to confer with the opposing party about the subject of the request.  Parties must indicate whether the motion is opposed and provide dates and times they areboth available for a rescheduled proceeding. Those dates and times must also be coordinated with the DWC docketing staff, thus ensuring that none of this will ever happen. The Division has modified the DWC Form-045 pursuant to the rule change. 

In addition, 28 TAC §141.2 has been amended to clarify that a “first request” to reschedule a benefit review conference, which does not require a demonstration of good cause, pertains to the first such request made in adispute, not the first request made by a particular party.  In other words, any subsequent request to reschedule a BRC by either party will require a showing of good cause. 

Finally, 28 TAC §142.11 has been amended to legitimize the Division’s long-standing practice of issuing a “10-day letter” to a party who fails to attend a scheduled contested case hearing.  The absent party is afforded ten days to respond and request that the hearing be reset. With the addition of this new rule, Administrative Law Judges are empowered to determine whether good cause has been established for the failure to attend and, if not, issue a decision based on the evidence previously admitted.

-  Copyright 2018,Stone Loughlin & Swanson, LLP.