Georgia Senate Republicans approved a bill Friday to limit lawsuit awards after a compromise on medical damages secured the necessary votes. The legislation, backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, passed 33-21 after heated debate.
Most Republicans supported it, while Democratic Sen. Emanuel Jones and Republican Sen. Colton Moore broke party lines.
Sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, SB 68 introduces several changes to personal injury trials. It reduces property owners’ liability for injuries, limits medical damages to actual payments instead of billed amounts, and allows trials to be split into separate phases for liability and damages. Kennedy said the bill aims to stabilize costs while ensuring fair compensation.
Kemp has made legal system changes a top priority, arguing they will lower business insurance costs. He warned lawmakers that failure to pass meaningful reforms could lead to a special session.
However, Democrats and the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association strongly oppose the bill, saying it restricts Georgians’ rights without guaranteeing lower insurance rates.
This legislation is not about protecting corporate profits. It’s not about caving to the demands of the insurance companies or denying Georgians their ability to be fully and fairly compensated when they need to go to court. Instead, it is about stabilizing costs and putting all Georgians — no matter where your zip code is — first.
Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy
The bill’s passage followed threats from Kemp’s leadership committee to fund primary challengers against Republicans who opposed it. However, an amendment helped secure votes.
Sen. Bo Hatchett worked with Kemp, Kennedy, and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to adjust the bill. The revision allows juries to see both the sticker price and out-of-pocket costs of medical care, which supporters say increases transparency.
Since 2016, litigation costs have risen 7.1% annually and legal system abuses have cost Georgia households $5,035 annually, Kennedy said, citing data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“The consequences of excessive litigation extend far beyond the courtroom. Because of rising litigation costs, small business owners are forced to lay off employees or shut down as their liability insurance premiums skyrocket,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The Insurance Information Institute applauded the reform package’s passing, noting legal system abuse has been a rampant problem in Georgia for many years and negatively impacted the cost of insurance across personal and commercial lines.
“It is costing every Georgian $1,415 a year in a ‘tort tax’, as well as leading to the elimination of 137,000 jobs annually across the state,” Mark Friedlander, Triple-I director of corporate communications, said in an emailed statement.
Legal system abuse has hit automobile lines particularly hard, Friedlander said.
Research from Triple-I showed Georgia drivers spent about the same as other Americans on personal auto insurance from the mid-2000s through 2014.
However, from 2014 to 2022, household expenditures for this product line in Georgia increased by 5.6% annually, compared with 3.3% in the U.S. overall — faster than in any other state due to legal system abuse
The state Senate Democrats’ countermeasure, the Pro People, Pro Business Act, focuses solely on premises liability and would set specific standards when assigning culpability. SB 68’s liability provisions create an exclusive remedy for negligent security claims but doesn’t specify exact security measures.
The counter bill would only assign liability to a property owner in cases where the conduct was reasonably foreseeable and if the owner failed to take precautions to protect invitees.
Wrongful conduct would be considered foreseeable if the acts were sufficient to put the property owner on notice of potential harm, were similar to other acts that occurred near the property or if the conduct was likely to occur.
Democrats argue the bill will not lower premiums and will make it harder for individuals to hold corporations accountable. Sen. Jason Esteves criticized it for failing to provide consumer relief and limiting legal options for injury victims. Senate Democrats introduced a competing bill, SB 223, proposing incentives for businesses to enhance customer safety instead of restricting lawsuits.
There have been allegations that anyone who dares to change this bill will face a primary opponent. Well, my job is to create good law.
Sen. Bo Hatchett, a Cornelia Republican and trial lawyer
“This amendment achieves the governor’s original goals while making common sense adjustments that strengthen the bill, and I’m happy to share that’s what we did. This is a friendly amendment born from all of us coming together at the table and doing good policy,” Sen. Bo Hatchett says.
The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, a longtime advocate for lawsuit limits, praised the bill’s passage. CEO Chris Clark called it a key step in their two-decade push for changes to Georgia’s damages system.
A related bill, SB 69, which restricts foreign and third-party litigation funding, passed a committee but has yet to reach a vote.
The Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, which opposed SB 68, declined to comment after the Senate’s approval.
