State Senator Preston Smith (R-Rome) co-sponsored a sweeping new civil justice reform bill today which is intended to change the landscape of civil lawsuits in Georgia.  The bill is formally entitled the “Common Sense Professional Liability Reform Act.”  Smith and Sen. Tom Price (R-Roswell) worked together to draft and file the legislation which is expected to be the subject of much debate in the General Assembly. 

Notably the bill caps non-economic damages awarded for pain and suffering to $250,000.  It also attempts to reduce frivolous lawsuits by strengthening requirements for the qualification of expert witnesses, reduces the number of times a plaintiff may dismiss a lawsuit and prohibits plaintiffs from collecting twice for the same injury.  The bill also limits a defendant’s liability to the proportion of his fault and eliminates “forum shopping” by a Plaintiff.

Smith said the bill is designed to reduce the cost of health insurance.  “Frivolous litigation has played a part in the skyrocketing costs of healthcare,” Smith said.  “We must continue to find ways to increase access to quality, affordable healthcare for all Georgians.  Enacting reasonable tort reform is one part of that process and was a principal focus of my campaign.  Our desire is to see more affordable healthcare options for small businesses and consumers.  The rising costs of health insurance has had a negative impact on physicians, hospitals, small businesses and consumers in Northwest Georgia and it’s our obligation to address this problem before it becomes a crisis.”

Smith serves on the Judiciary and the Health and Human Services committees.  The bill will be assigned to the Judiciary committee.  He has been also been appointed to a small subcommittee to which this bill will be assigned.