This month, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed what his office described as “historic legislation delivering commonsense, meaningful tort reform.” The legislation, which he encouraged both houses of the state legislature to pass, addresses multiple issues. One of them involves injury lawsuits against businesses.
This part of the legislative package was championed by Gov. Kemp. In fact, in a press release, it was referred to as the “Governor’s legislation.” Insurance companies and business interests throughout the state also advocated for it out of concern for how much businesses and their insurers were paying in premises liability claims and the resulting premium increases.
Lawmakers say that the “lawsuit reform” bill will help stem the rising costs of insurance premiums for businesses and protect them from “frivolous lawsuits while ensuring that Georgians who are injured are still able to recover for their claims,” as one lawmaker put it.
What’s included in the legislation?
Among the changes this legislation brings are the following:
- Businesses can only be liable for potential risks they can “directly control.”
- Pain and suffering damages must be linked to the injuries.
- Either party in a case can request a “bifurcated” trial where a jury must first find a defendant liable before hearing evidence about damages.
- Jurors in these cases are to consider not just a victim’s medical bills but how much was covered by their insurer to help ensure “truth in damages.”
The Governor’s Office emphasized that the legislation doesn’t place a cap (maximum) on the amount of money that a jury can award in these cases. It says that the legislation “protects the jury’s decision making from irrelevant and improper arguments from counsel – empowering the jury to decide an award amount based on real evidence in the case.”
The new law will make things more challenging for many plaintiffs. However, with sound legal guidance, those who have suffered injuries due to a property owner’s negligence can still succeed at getting fair compensation to cover their medical bills and other expenses and damages.