Texas Tort Reform: Talk is Cheap

Texas May Talk Tough on Tort Reform, But Verdicts Tell Another Story

Texas keeps making national headlines for one reason, juries here don’t play small.
Every few months, another trucking verdict drops that makes underwriters groan and defense attorneys double-check their malpractice coverage.

For a state that prides itself on being business friendly, Texas has quietly become one of the hardest places in the country to defend a commercial vehicle case.

The 90 Million Werner Verdict And Its Reversal

The jury didn’t hold back. They blamed Werner for everything, from the weather to bad luck.

In 2024, the Texas Supreme Court finally stepped in and tossed that 90 million dollar verdict. The justices said what most people in trucking already knew, you can’t turn a carrier into the villain just because it has money.

The ruling made sense, but it came years too late. The damage was already done. The headlines, the nuclear verdict label, the legal bills, none of that goes away.

SB 30: The Reform Bill That Didn’t Survive

Lawmakers tried to follow that Werner case with Senate Bill 30, pitched as a fix for inflated medical costs and jury manipulation.
If it had passed, it would have:

Limited “phantom” medical billing, letting juries see what was paid, not just what was charged
Required disclosure of referral relationships between lawyers and medical providers
Added some structure to runaway verdict math

It had real momentum, until it died in the House. By the time it hit committee, the reform had been gutted to almost nothing. A watered-down disclosure rule squeaked through, but the rest was gone.

So despite the tough talk, Texas tort reform stalled out.

Why Texas Verdicts Keep Blowing Up

There’s a pattern here.

Plaintiff attorneys love Texas because it gives them:

Venue flexibility – the right courtroom can change everything
Sympathetic juries – big carriers make easy villains
Open-ended damages – few hard caps or restrictions on emotional arguments

That mix is dangerous. Once a jury sees a corporate logo next to a wreck photo, the numbers can go sky high fast.

And that perception spills straight into underwriting. Texas accounts for a disproportionate share of high severity liability losses in national carrier portfolios.

The Hope Trans Fallout

That Hope Trans crash on I-20 near Terrell was ugly. Five lives were lost, and what came out after was worse. Investigators started digging and found fake paperwork, busted logbooks, and trucks that somehow reappeared under new names even after the old companies were shut down.

It’s the kind of story that sticks with you because it didn’t have to happen. Somebody looked the other way. And when that happens, it’s never just one carrier that pays the price. The whole industry does.

The Insurance Ripple

Insurers price what they fear.

Every time a nuclear verdict hits the news, it strengthens the case for higher Texas premiums, even for carriers who’ve never had a claim.

We’re seeing that ripple firsthand:

Premium hikes of 20 to 30 percent across renewals, even on clean accounts
Carriers getting non-renewed or “outpriced” because the market won’t take on Texas trucking risk

And when coverage dries up, small fleets pay the price. Not because they did anything wrong, but because the system punishes everyone for the outliers.

Texas verdicts don’t just hit the guilty, they reshape the market for everyone else.

What Needs To Change

Until Texas passes meaningful reform, damage caps, venue limits, or full transparency on litigation funding, the verdict culture won’t shift. Carriers will keep paying the price, literally and figuratively.

The Werner reversal was progress, but it was one case. Real reform needs a pattern, not a one-off.

Our Take

We love Texas! Let’s be real though, the market has turned brutal.

We’re seeing clean accounts hit with double-digit increases for no good reason. The verdicts make headlines, but the aftermath lands on your renewal notice, and ours. We’re feeling the sting right along with you.

Until reform matches reality, every Texas verdict is a reminder, talk is cheap, but settlements aren’t.

How We Make An Impact

The truth is, none of us can fix this alone. But every Texas carrier, agent, and advocate has a voice.
Show up when tort reform bills hit committee. Support trade groups that are fighting for fair verdicts. Keep clean records, defend your safety programs, and speak up when the system punishes good operators.

We can’t outspend trial lawyers, but we can outlast them. Texas trucking built this economy, and it deserves a legal system that protects it, not one that bleeds it dry.

Need help reviewing your coverage or liability exposure in Texas?
Call us at 254-294-7798 or email info@trucku.biz. We’ll break it down without the lawyer speak.

Disclosure

This post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, insurance advice, or a substitute for calling your agent. We’re good, but we’re not psychic. Policies vary, laws change, and courtrooms get weird. Don’t make decisions based solely on something you read on the internet, unless it’s from us, in writing, with your name on it.

All opinions are our own and do not represent the views of any carrier, employer, or underwriting department that occasionally wishes we were quieter on LinkedIn.