State
Legislatures are focusing on Medical Malpractice and Personal injury cases.
Judges in many States have no caps on Judgements and end up negotiating with
Insurance Companies. Non-Economic Pain and Suffering Judgements have been
excessive.
The
American College of Surgeons have recommended that pain and suffering damages
should be capped at $250,000.
Pain
and suffering payout amounts range from $7,000 to $740,550*. Your payout
amount is based on how much you've been impacted compared to the 'most extreme
case' (MEC).
Economic damages refers
to compensation for objectively verifiable monetary losses such as past and
future medical expenses, loss of past and future earnings, loss of use of
property, costs of repair or replacement, the economic value of domestic
services, and loss of employment or business opportunities.
Non-economic damages refers
to compensation for subjective, non-monetary losses such as pain, suffering,
inconvenience, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of
consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Punitive damages refers
to damages awarded for the purpose of punishment -- to deter intentional or
reckless behavior or actions motivated by malice. Punitive damages are neither
economic nor non-economic damages, as they are not awarded to compensate any
loss.
https://www.facs.org/advocacy/federal-legislation/liability/guide-to-liability-reform/ending-the-confusion/
The
AMA has weighed in with detailed State by State recommendations.
https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/mlr-state-laws-chart-I.pdf
There were 1,044,734 licensed
physicians in the United States in 2023.
The highest Malpractice court
decision was $8.3 million in Maryland in 2024. This was reduced to $1.3
million.
https://www.millerandzois.com/medical-malpractice/maryland-malpractice-verdicts/
The Georgia Composite Medical Board
("Board") is authorized to deny, revoke, suspend, fine,
reprimand or otherwise limit the license of a physician or physician assistant
for all the grounds set forth in O.C.G.A.
The
Supreme Court of Georgia regulates the practice of law in Georgia and has
the final say regarding any public discipline against a lawyer.
https://www.gabar.org/forthepublic/recent-discipline.cfm
Georgia
law has a penalty for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The Georgia Code states
that someone is liable for abusive litigation if they act maliciously and
without substantial justification. Frivolous claims include claims that
lack substantial justification, are not made in good faith, or are made with
malice or a wrongful purpose. - Georgia Code § 9-11-68
There are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the United
States. To be more precise, there were 1,331,290 active lawyers as of
Jan. 1, 2023, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, a
tally of lawyers in every U.S. state and territory. 72% of all Lawyers are
Democrats.
This
Tort reform includes review of other Insurance costs for property damage and
personal injury.
Georgia
Legislators mentioned that businesses could not afford their premiums and
insurance companies were pulling out of Georgia.
Comments
I
would add looking at discouraging frivolous law suits and consequences for
property damage and malicious prosecution.
Libel
and slander are protected by the First Amendment's rights to freedom of speech
and freedom of the press. However, the truth of a statement is usually a
defense to defamation. For example, if someone can prove that an
accusation was a lie, they can sue for slander.
Defamation
is a tort that includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken
statements). It's a statement that injures a third party's
reputation. Defamation is usually not a federal question, and the statute
of limitations regulations and laws that will be applied will depend on the
location where you file. Each state in the U.S. usually has its statute of
limitations, with most limiting to a year (some are as long as three years)
Libel
and Slander Laws
Libel
and slander laws offer legal recourse for someone whose name is being unjustly
dragged through the mud. The law has developed a complex set of standards
for protecting public and private figures. For example, the Court has held
that actual malice is when the defamation was published with knowledge that it
was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false.
Defamation
in the US
Libel
or defamation is now primarily a civil claim, although it once was primarily a
criminal offense, prosecuted by the government and punishable by imprisonment
or a fine. State common law and statutory law governs defamation actions,
and each state varies in their standards for defamation and potential damages.
https://www.google.com/search?q=are+there+laws+against+liable+and+slander+in+the+us
If we
had real laws to discourage libel and slander, we wouldn’t have to watch any
campaign ads on TV.
A good
part of Atlanta’s auto insurance cost increases is tied to the dangerous
complexity of our road and highway “improvements”. Roundabouts and elevated
highways are dangerous, road lanes are too narrow, 12-foot bike paths are
unnecessary and express lane tolling is a trap that complicates highway use.
Building a link from US 27 to I-85 and I-75 would allow 18-wheelers to bypass
Atlanta. Bad road and highway “improvements” are the reason for high auto
insurance costs.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader