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§ 84.007.Applicability

Title 4. Liability in Tort · Chapter 84. Charitable Immunity and Liability · Last amended 2011 · Last verified August 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 84.007 excludes intentional and wilfully negligent conduct from the chapter, excludes governmental units, health care providers, hazardous waste organizations, and organizations formed to limit liability, and conditions the caps on insurance.

Full Text of § 84.007

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

(a)This chapter does not apply to an act or omission that is intentional, wilfully negligent, or done with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(b)This chapter does not limit or modify the duties or liabilities of a member of the board of directors or an officer to the organization or its members and shareholders.
(c)This chapter does not limit the liability of an organization or its employees or volunteers if the organization was formed substantially to limit its liability under this chapter.
(d)This chapter does not apply to organizations formed to dispose, remove, or store hazardous waste, industrial solid waste, radioactive waste, municipal solid waste, garbage, or sludge as those terms are defined under applicable state and federal law. This subsection shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose.
(e)Sections 84.005 and 84.006 of this chapter do not apply to a health care provider as defined in Section 74.001, unless the provider is a federally funded migrant or community health center under the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.A. Sections 254b and 254c) or is a nonprofit health maintenance organization created and operated by a community center under Section 534.101, Health and Safety Code, or unless the provider usually provides discounted services at or below costs based on the ability of the beneficiary to pay. Acceptance of Medicare or Medicaid payments will not disqualify a health care provider under this section. In no event shall Sections 84.005 and 84.006 of this chapter apply to a general hospital or special hospital as defined in Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code, or a facility or institution licensed under Subtitle C, Title 7, Health and Safety Code, or Chapter 242, Health and Safety Code, or to any health maintenance organization created and operating under Chapter 843, Insurance Code, except for a nonprofit health maintenance organization created under Section 534.101, Health and Safety Code.
(f)This chapter does not apply to a governmental unit or employee of a governmental unit as defined in the Texas Tort Claims Act (Subchapter A, Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code).
(g)Sections 84.005 and 84.006 of this Act do not apply to any charitable organization that does not have liability insurance coverage in effect on any act or omission to which this chapter applies. The coverage shall apply to the acts or omissions of the organization and its employees and volunteers and be in the amount of at least $500,000 for each person and $1,000,000 for each single occurrence for death or bodily injury and $100,000 for each single occurrence for injury to or destruction of property. The coverage may be provided under a contract for insurance, a plan providing for self-insured retention that the charitable organization has fully paid or establishes to a court that it is capable of fully and immediately paying, a Lloyd's plan, an indemnity policy to which all requirements for payment have been or will be met, or other plan of insurance authorized by statute and may be satisfied by the purchase of a $1,000,000 bodily injury and property damage combined single limit policy. For the purposes of this chapter, coverage amounts are inclusive of a self-insured retention, a Lloyd's plan, or an indemnity policy to which all requirements for payment have been or will be met. Nothing in this chapter shall limit liability of any insurer or insurance plan in an action under Chapter 541, Insurance Code, or in an action for bad faith conduct, breach of fiduciary duty, or negligent failure to settle a claim.
(h)This chapter does not apply to:
(1)a statewide trade association that represents local chambers of commerce; or
(2)a cosponsor of an event or activity with a local chamber of commerce unless the cosponsor is a charitable organization under this chapter.
End

Plain-English Summary

The applicability section, and it is where the chapter's real boundaries are.

The chapter does not apply to an act or omission that is intentional, wilfully negligent, or done with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others. That governs every protection in the chapter except the religious security personnel immunity, which expressly overrides it.

Subsection (c) blocks the obvious abuse: the chapter does not limit liability if the organization was formed substantially to limit its liability under this chapter.

Subsection (g) is the insurance condition, and it is decisive. The employee and organization caps do not apply to a charitable organization that does not have liability insurance in effect covering the organization, its employees, and its volunteers, in at least $500,000 per person, $1,000,000 per occurrence for death or bodily injury, and $100,000 per occurrence for property.

An uninsured charity has no cap. That is the chapter's principal incentive to carry coverage, and it matches the bargain the recreational use and alternative medical caps strike.

Subsection (e) excludes health care providers as the medical liability chapter defines them from the two caps — unless the provider is a federally funded migrant or community health center, a nonprofit HMO created by a community center, or usually provides discounted services at or below cost.

Subsection (f) excludes a governmental unit or its employees, who are covered by the Tort Claims Act. Subsection (d) excludes organizations formed to dispose of, remove, or store hazardous, industrial, radioactive, or municipal solid waste, garbage, or sludge — and directs that this exclusion be liberally construed.

Subsection (b) leaves the duties of directors and officers to the organization and its members unaffected, and subsection (h) excludes statewide trade associations representing local chambers and certain event cosponsors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does charitable immunity cover intentional acts?

No. The chapter does not apply to an act that is intentional, wilfully negligent, or done with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others — except for religious organization security personnel.

Do the caps apply without insurance?

No. The employee and organization caps do not apply to a charitable organization without liability insurance in at least $500,000 per person, $1 million per occurrence, and $100,000 for property.

Are health care providers covered?

Generally not by the two caps, unless the provider is a federally funded migrant or community health center, a nonprofit HMO created by a community center, or usually provides discounted services at or below cost.

Does it apply to government entities?

No. Governmental units and their employees are excluded and are governed by the Texas Tort Claims Act.

Amendment History

  • Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 370, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
  • Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 14, Sec. 284(14), (20), eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 835, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;
  • Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1297, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 93, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, Sec. 18.02, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1276, Sec. 10A.507, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
  • Amended by:
  • Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 133 (H.B. 736), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.
  • Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 39 (S.B. 1846), Sec. 2, eff. May 9, 2011.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Texas Legislature Online (statutes.capitol.texas.gov). Enacted by the Texas Legislature. Current through May 14, 2026. Last verified August 29, 2026. · Official source