Why Your Provider-Directed Subpoenas Aren’t Working

Texas law has long required that plaintiffs in tort actions or personal injury cases support their claims for medical expense from a defendant with evidence that the charges were reasonable and necessary. But things shifted after In re N. Cypress Medical Center, 559 S.W.3d 128 (Tex. 2018) and the line of cases that followed, as Texas courts clarified that, under certain limited circumstances, the amounts a third-party medical provider was willing to accept as payment from government/commercial payors could sometimes be relevant to the underlying damages dispute between a plaintiff and alleged tortfeasor.

Since then, third-party subpoenas directed to hospitals, clinics, and other health care providers have become a regular—and increasingly burdensome—feature of Texas litigation. High-volume personal injury lawyers and defense counsel routinely issue boilerplate subpoenas and deposition requests seeking medical and billing information from medical providers. However, these subpoenas