Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code - Section 90.001. Definitions
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Texas Laws > Civil Practice & Remedies Code > Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code - Section 90.001. Definitions
§ 90.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Asbestos" means chrysotile, amosite,
crocidolite, tremolite asbestos, anthophyllite asbestos,
actinolite asbestos, and any of these minerals that have been
chemically treated or altered.
(2) "Asbestos-related injury" means personal injury
or death allegedly caused, in whole or in part, by inhalation or
ingestion of asbestos.
(3) "Asbestosis" means bilateral diffuse interstitial
fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.
(4) "Certified B-reader" means a person who has
successfully completed the x-ray interpretation course sponsored
by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) and passed the B-reader certification examination for x-ray
interpretation and whose NIOSH certification is current at the time
of any readings required by this chapter.
(5) "Chest x-ray" means chest films that are taken in
accordance with all applicable state and federal regulatory
standards and in the posterior-anterior view.
(6) "Claimant" means an exposed person and any person
who is seeking recovery of damages for or arising from the injury or
death of an exposed person.
(7) "Defendant" means a person against whom a claim
arising from an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related injury
is made.
(8) "Exposed person" means a person who is alleged to
have suffered an asbestos-related injury or a silica-related
injury.
(9) "FEV1" means forced expiratory volume in the first
second, which is the maximal volume of air expelled in one second
during performance of simple spirometric tests.
(10) "FVC" means forced vital capacity, which is the
maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of
full inspiration.
(11) "ILO system of classification" means the
radiological rating system of the International Labor Office in
"Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of
Radiographs of Pneumoconioses" (2000), as amended.
(12) "MDL pretrial court" means the district court to
which related cases are transferred for consolidated or coordinated
pretrial proceedings under Rule 13, Texas Rules of Judicial
Administration.
(13) "MDL rules" means the rules adopted by the
supreme court under Subchapter H, Chapter 74, Government Code.
(14) "Mesothelioma" means a rare form of cancer
allegedly caused in some instances by exposure to asbestos in which
the cancer invades cells in the membrane lining:
(A) the lungs and chest cavity (the pleural
region);
(B) the abdominal cavity (the peritoneal
region); or
(C) the heart (the pericardial region).
(15) "Nonmalignant asbestos-related injury" means an
asbestos-related injury other than mesothelioma or other cancer.
(16) "Nonmalignant silica-related injury" means a
silica-related injury other than cancer.
(17) "Physician board certified in internal medicine"
means a physician who is certified by the American Board of Internal
Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
(18) "Physician board certified in occupational
medicine" means a physician who is certified in the subspecialty of
occupational medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine
or the American Osteopathic Board of Preventive Medicine.
(19) "Physician board certified in oncology" means a
physician who is certified in the subspecialty of medical oncology
by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American
Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
(20) "Physician board certified in pathology" means a
physician who holds primary certification in anatomic pathology or
clinical pathology from the American Board of Pathology or the
American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine and whose
professional practice:
(A) is principally in the field of pathology;
and
(B) involves regular evaluation of pathology
materials obtained from surgical or postmortem specimens.
(21) "Physician board certified in pulmonary
medicine" means a physician who is certified in the subspecialty of
pulmonary medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine or
the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine.
(22) "Plethysmography" means the test for determining
lung volume, also known as "body plethysmography," in which the
subject of the test is enclosed in a chamber that is equipped to
measure pressure, flow, or volume change.
(23) "Pulmonary function testing" means spirometry,
lung volume, and diffusion capacity testing performed in accordance
with Section 90.002 using equipment, methods of calibration, and
techniques that meet:
(A) the criteria incorporated in the American
Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent
Impairment and reported in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix
1, Part (A), Sections 3.00(E) and (F)(2003); and
(B) the interpretative standards in the Official
Statement of the American Thoracic Society entitled "Lung Function
Testing: Selection of Reference Values and Interpretative
Strategies," as published in 144 American Review of Respiratory
Disease 1202-1218 (1991).
(24) "Report" means a report required by Section
90.003, 90.004, or 90.010(f)(1).
(25) "Respirable," with respect to silica, means
particles that are less than 10 microns in diameter.
(26) "Serve" means to serve notice on a party in
compliance with Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(27) "Silica" means a respirable form of crystalline
silicon dioxide, including alpha quartz, cristobalite, and
tridymite.
(28) "Silica-related injury" means personal injury or
death allegedly caused, in whole or in part, by inhalation of
silica.
(29) "Silicosis" means interstitial fibrosis of the
lungs caused by inhalation of silica, including:
(A) acute silicosis, which may occur after
exposure to very high levels of silica within a period of months to
five years after the initial exposure;
(B) accelerated silicosis; and
(C) chronic silicosis.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 97, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.
Section: 88.001 88.0015 88.002 88.003 89.001 89.002 89.003 90.001 90.002 90.003 90.004 90.005 90.006 90.007 90.008
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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