Texas Watch—Consumer Protection. Corporate Accountability. Citizen Advocacy.

Wildfires have swept across our state, destroying homes and upending thousands of lives. Here are some tips for families and policyholders when dealing with their insurance company. Read More »

In a major opinion today, the Texas Supreme Court overturned more than 20 years of established law to protect workers’ comp insurance providers from claims by injured workers.  In the opinion, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Timothy J. Ruttiger, the Court ruled that injured workers who have been subjected to bad faith claims handling by their workers’ comp insurance provider are not protected by the Texas Insurance Code’s provisions against “unfair settlement practices.” Read More »

Patients in Illinois got good news this week when the courts re-instated a popular law that gives them access to safety information about their physicians.  Texas Watch called on Texas lawmakers to follow the lead of Illinois and 6 other states by adopting a meaningful “Patient Right to Know Act.”

“Recent revelations about how the Texas Medical Board fails to thoroughly review physician safety records, leaving the public in the dark about the safety records of physicians practicing in Texas spotlights the need for an Illinois-style disclosure law for patients,” said Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch. Read More »

What does it mean to be a middle class wage-earner and consumer in Texas?

For too many families, it means a struggle to make ends meet.  Texans want safe, stable jobs with decent wages and reasonable benefits that allow them to raise a family, own a home, and save for a comfortable retirement.  Much has been made lately about job growth in Texas.  Unfortunately, for middle class Texans, the so-called “Texas Miracle” has been more myth than reality.  So, how does Texas stack up to the rest of the nation on key quality of life indicators? Read More »

Corpus Christi neurosurgeon Stefan Konasiewicz is on trial in Minnesota this week for medical malpractice.  Konasiewicz left a trail of medical incompetence in Minnesota that has resulted in nine medical malpractice lawsuits, some involving patient deaths, as well as a public reprimand by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice.

Rather than face the music in Minnesota Konasiewicz fled to Texas where lax oversight and a broken legal system allow bad doctors to keep seeing patients, turning our state into a safe haven for dangerous doctors like Konasiewicz. Read More »

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Eleanor Kitzman as the state’s next Insurance Commissioner.  Ms. Kitzman currently serves as a state budget appointee for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and served as South Carolina’s insurance commissioner under Gov. Mark Sanford.  Ms. Kitzman has also been an insurance executive for numerous insurance companies and a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group.

Texas Watch executive director Alex Winslow issued the following statement. Read More »

Coastal homeowners and businesses are at risk with the passage of the final version of a bill to restructure the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.

“TWIA needlessly punished and endangered its policyholders after Hurricane Ike. The lesson from this man-made disaster should be to bolster protections for policyholders.  Instead, lawmakers have chosen to severely curtail the legal protections and constitutional rights of coastal residents and business owners,” said Alex Winslow, Texas Watch executive director.  “This legislation is an unconstitutionally retroactive big government solution that severely restricts existing legal protections designed to guarantee that claims are paid promptly and fairly.” Read More »

Rep. Larry Taylor admitted that he is vacationing in the Bahamas rather than attending to legislative duties in Austin, the Associated Press has reported.

Several times this week the House has struggled to maintain a quorum, slowing the business of the state during a special session that is costing the taxpayers $37,500 a day.  The most prominent issue still unresolved during the special session is how to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), an issue critical to Rep. Taylor’s coastal constituents.

Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, issued the following statement. Read More »

We’ve all heard the story of Stella Liebeck and the infamous cup of McDonald’s coffee.  But, most of us don’t know what really happened.  The severity of the burns, the hundreds of complaints and injuries that preceded Ms. Liebeck’s injury, McDonald’s conscious internal corporate decision to keep the coffee at such high temperatures.

An important new film, “Hot Coffee” – premiering on HBO on Monday June 27th at 8:00 PM CT – features explores the McDonald’s case and others to show how corporate and insurance interests have manipulated the debate to turn public opinion against our constitutional right to Trial by Jury.

This is Must See TV! Read More »

Texas Watch Director of Legislative Affairs Ware Wendell recently testified against House Bill 3, the latest version of legislation to restructure the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.  He cautioned committee members against stripping coastal homeowners of vital protections that penalize insurance providers when they fail to pay claims promptly and fairly. Read More »