Tex. Health and Safety Code § 242.017
This is the official text of Tex. Health and Safety Code § 242.017, part of Texas’s Health and Safety Code — covers public health and safety regulation.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ 242.017. ADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN EVIDENCE IN CIVIL ACTIONS.
Official statutory text
(a) The following are not admissible as evidence in a civil action:
(1) any finding by the department that an institution has violated this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter; or
(2) the fact of the assessment of a penalty against an institution under this chapter or the payment of the penalty by an institution.
(b) This section does not apply in an enforcement action in which the state or an agency or political subdivision of the state is a party.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, evidence described by Subsection (a) is admissible as evidence in a civil action only if:
(1) the evidence relates to a material violation of this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter or assessment of a monetary penalty with respect to:
(A) the particular incident and the particular individual whose personal injury is the basis of the claim being brought in the civil action; or
(B) a finding by the department that directly involves substantially similar conduct that occurred at the institution within a period of one year before the particular incident that is the basis of the claim being brought in the civil action; and
(2) the evidence of a material violation has been affirmed by the entry of a final adjudicated and unappealable order of the department after formal appeal; and
(3) the record is otherwise admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence.
(1) any finding by the department that an institution has violated this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter; or
(2) the fact of the assessment of a penalty against an institution under this chapter or the payment of the penalty by an institution.
(b) This section does not apply in an enforcement action in which the state or an agency or political subdivision of the state is a party.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, evidence described by Subsection (a) is admissible as evidence in a civil action only if:
(1) the evidence relates to a material violation of this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter or assessment of a monetary penalty with respect to:
(A) the particular incident and the particular individual whose personal injury is the basis of the claim being brought in the civil action; or
(B) a finding by the department that directly involves substantially similar conduct that occurred at the institution within a period of one year before the particular incident that is the basis of the claim being brought in the civil action; and
(2) the evidence of a material violation has been affirmed by the entry of a final adjudicated and unappealable order of the department after formal appeal; and
(3) the record is otherwise admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Texas?
Find a Texas lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.