(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a report or other document prepared by the department that relates to regulation of an assisted living facility is not admissible as evidence in a civil action to prove that the facility violated a standard prescribed under this chapter.
(b) Subsection (a) does not:
(1) bar the admission into evidence of department reports or other documents in an enforcement action in which the state or an agency or political subdivision of the state is a party, including:
(A) an action seeking injunctive relief under § 247.044;
(B) an action seeking imposition of a civil penalty under § 247.045;
(C) a contested case hearing involving denial, suspension, or revocation of a license issued under this chapter; and
(D) an action seeking imposition of an administrative penalty under this subchapter;
(2) bar the admission into evidence of department reports or other documents that are offered:
(A) to establish warning or notice to an assisted living facility of a relevant department determination; or
(B) under any rule or evidentiary predicate of the Texas Rules of Evidence;
(3) prohibit or limit the testimony of a department employee, in accordance with the Texas Rules of Evidence, as to observations, factual findings, conclusions, or determinations that an assisted living facility violated a standard prescribed under this chapter if the observations, factual findings, conclusions, or determinations were made in the discharge of the employee’s official duties for the department; or
(4) prohibit or limit the use of department reports or other documents in depositions or other forms of discovery conducted in connection with a civil action if use of the reports or other documents appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

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Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 247.049

  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.