Judge Overturns Fee Dispute Resolution Process

In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 7, replacing the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission with the Division of Workers' Compensation. The legislation also changed the dispute resolution process to allow fee disputes to go directly from the division to district court, without going through the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) as they did before. The change was intended to speed up the resolution process and eliminate a backlog of disputes. But in 2006, Travis County District Judge Stephen Yelenosky ruled that change denied hospitals due process in thousands...