''Expert Witness Report'' Definition and Rules In Texas

Under the 1995 amendments, the Act requires claimants to file an expert report together with the expert's curriculum vitae no later than 180 days after the suit is filed. TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 4590i, 13.01(d) (Vernon Supp. 2000). The Act provides that if the claimant fails to timely provide the report, or alternatively, nonsuit his claim, the trial court "shall" dismiss the suit with prejudice upon defendant's motion. Id. at 13.01(e). The Act further provides that a court shall grant a motion challenging the adequacy of an expert report only if it appears to the court, after hearing, that the report does not represent a good faith effort to comply with the definition of an expert report. Id. at 13.01(l). The statute defines an "expert report" as follows: A written report by an expert that provides a fair summary of the expert's opinions as of the date of the report regarding applicable standards of care, the manner in which the care rendered by the physician or health care provider failed to meet the standards, and the causal relationship between that failure and the injury, harm, or damages claimed. Id. at 13.01(r)(6).