McAllen Hospitals, L.P. D/B/A McAllen Medical Center v. State Farm County Mutual Insurance Company of Texas

To assist hospitals with securing payment for medical services provided to accident victims, Texas Property Code chapter 55 (the Hospital Lien Statute) allows a hospital to file a lien on a patient’s cause of action against a person whose negligence caused the injury that necessitated the patient’s treatment. If the hospital’s charges secured by a proper lien are not “paid” within the meaning of the statute, any release of the patient’s cause of action is invalid. In this case, two patients treated at the petitioner’s hospital settled with the negligent third party. That party’s liability…