Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick says rebel House members who tried to oust him this year are backed by trial lawyers.
The Midland Republican says lawyers want lawmakers to repeal limits on liability he pushed through in 2003.
His hometown Midland Reporter-Telegram reports Craddick made the remarks in a speech to the Downtown Lions Club in Midland on Wednesday.
Craddick repulsed an attempted coup to topple him at the start of the 140-day regular session in January. He repelled another assault in May as it ended.
Craddick became speaker in 2003 after Republicans took control of the House for the first time since Reconstruction. One of his first orders of business as speaker was pressing for civil lawsuit limitations.
He says that since the 2003 tort law changes, more than 8,000 new doctors have come to Texas. The new laws limited medical malpractice jury awards to $250,000 in most cases and $1.6 million in death-related lawsuits.
The state only had two insurance companies providing malpractice insurance then. He says it now has nine.
