Thursday, August 29, 2024

Tort Reform 8-30-24

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

 

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