Georgia lawmakers recently passed legislation that they styled a “tort reform”. Key proponents of this new legislation include the Chamber of Commerce and the insurance industry, as well as the Governor of this state.
They claim that the reforms will ultimately make Georgia’s justice system better for everyone, though many others believe that businesses and their insurers benefit most.
Although obviously written from his perspective, the Governor’s press release about the measure includes a comprehensive summary of what this new law does:
- It will be more difficult for victims of crimes to win personal injury cases against the owners of establishments where the crime happened. The legal bar is now set higher for proving that a business is responsible for crimes on their property.
- With respect to medical expenses, juries will hear evidence of both the amount a medical provider bills to treat an injury and what a health insurer actually paid the provider for that treatment.
- Victims and their attorneys may still ask for pain and suffering damages without worrying about a cap on these damages. However, the new law requires that when arguing their case, they must focus on how the victim’s injuries impacted the victim without referring to what the Governor called “artificial” ways of measuring pain and suffering.
- The law made several procedural changes that, while perhaps more of interest to attorneys, tend to protect defendants in personal injury cases.
- In motor vehicle accident claims, the defendant may point out to a jury that the victim was not wearing a seat belt and may argue that they should not have to pay as much compensation as a result.
- The measure regulates third party litigation funding, a practice where a lender will front the hefty expense of prosecuting a personal injury case in exchange for a share of any compensation the victim might get.
Victims of catastrophic injuries from trucking, other accidents still have options
While it is important for victims to know how exactly this new law does or does not change the landscape, even online journals associated with the insurance industry acknowledge that that, overall, this controversial development is a disappointment to those advocating for victims’ rights.
Nevertheless, victims in the Atlanta area still have the right to seek compensation for those whose negligence caused their oftentimes severe and catastrophic injuries. They should consider pursuing all legal avenues for recovery to get the compensation they both need and deserve.