MOULTRIE – “Level the playing field” in Georgia’s courtrooms has been a running theme for the past couple of years in Governor Brian Kemp’s drive for tort reform.

Leveling the playing field

At the 2023 Georgia Chamber Congressional Luncheon, he told the audience, “The laws on our books are making it too easy to bring frivolous lawsuits against Georgia business owners, which drive up the price of insurance and stop new, good-paying jobs from ever coming to communities that need them the most.”

He said he and his administration’s top priorities were to reduce insurance premiums and to “level the playing field” in the courtrooms.

Lt. Governor Burt Jones also used the phrase “level the playing field” in a press release on his website, last March, after SB 426 passed the Georgia House.

“With the passage of this bill, we are one step closer to providing Georgia’s growing business community the relief it needs,” said Jones in the press release. “If we want to continue to be the #1 state in which to do business, we must foster a business-friendly climate. Now, we can help level the playing field when a case reaches the courtroom.”

Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, was one of the 13 senators who sponsored the bill, which went into effect last July. The bill’s goal was to limit the ability of plaintiffs to sue motor carriers and their insurers simultaneously.

Georgia a “Judicial Hellhole”

Last year, at a joint meeting of the Moultrie Kiwanis Club and the Moultrie Rotary Club,  Jones said, “Tort reform is a big issue. It’s probably the number one issue I’m hearing from business owners and all over the place … They’re all talking about the cost of insurance, the cost of doing business and then they’re also talking about the tort system, here, in the State of Georgia.”

Based on Georgia’s judicial record, the American Tort Reform Foundation listed the state as No. 1, for the past two years, as a “Judicial Hellhole.” The non-profit organization’s goal is to educate the public about how the civil justice system operates.

This year, the non-profit organization dropped Georgia’s ranking to No. 4, citing Kemp’s prioritization of legal reform as its reasoning.

Commissioner of Insurance onboard

Another piece of legislation that Kemp saw passed last year enacted the “Data Analysis for Tort Reform Act.” It tasked Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire John King with putting together a report of collected and analyzed insurance claims data.

Completed in November, it drew this conclusion, “Our analysis of insurance claims data has identified several key factors contributing to rising cost of insurance across several lines of business. Some of the policy levers included above (outlined in report) such as inflated medical costs and third-party litigation funding, likely have effects on all lines of liability insurance.”

When Kemp unveiled his tort reform legislation plan at the end of last month, during the press conference, King also carried the “leveling the playing field” theme through when he spoke in support of the plan.

“The plan Governor Kemp is rolling out today will tackle a failed status quo, level the playing field in our courtrooms, and help ensure Georgia’s long-term prosperity and security. I’m all-in to help him get it across the finish line,” he said.

Combatting inflated medical costs

Kemp’s strategy to reduce the “inflated medical costs,” mentioned in the conclusion of Kings’s report, introduces legislation that seemed to directly target two issues.

The first issue was “truthfully calculating of medical damages in personal injury cases,” also called “Phantom Damages.”

The legislation outlined on Kemp’s website states, “Requires the plaintiff to only seek damages in the amount actually paid (or will be paid in the future) for a medical bill, rather than the inflated amount that is currently introduced in evidence — ensuring Georgians who are successful in their litigation are made whole, and have their costs covered, while protecting consumers from inflated costs being passed on to them.”

The second issue was “eliminating the ability to arbitrarily anchor pain and suffering damages to a jury.”

The legislation outlined on Kemp’s website states, “Prohibits the use of anchoring tactics by attorneys in closing arguments so the jury can use their own discretion — rather than artificial benchmarks like the cost of fighter jets, or the number of miles a truck drove, or the salary of a professional athlete — all of which are real examples from cases.”

Senate Bills 68 and 69, which contain Kemp’s tort reform legislation, are currently making their way through the General Assembly’s legislative session.

Local physician weighs-in

Dr. Michael Brown, chief medical officer and pulmonary/critical care physician at Colquitt Regional Medical Center, attended the press conference held by Kemp at the Georgia State Capitol.

“Essentially, Georgia Hospital Association asked for physicians and nurses to come and represent and stand at the side of Governor Kemp as he held his press conference regarding litigation reform,” he said. “It was a very powerful press conference. The people there had not seen anything along those lines.”

He added that Kemp even threatened to call for a second legislative session, later in the year, if legislation on tort reform did not go through.

Kemp also threatened it during this year’s State of the State address, “There is always room for compromise, but there will be no room for excuses, half-measures, or failure. Whether it’s this legislative session, or perhaps a second one later this year, we will achieve meaningful, impactful tort reform.”

“We have fortunately not had to have a huge medical lawsuit because we’re such a good quality hospital,” Brown said. “But what’s happened is that, even though we provide amazing care at Colquitt Regional, the cost of malpractice, overall, has gone up as a result of many ‘nuclear verdicts’ that have occurred. So, the cost for healthcare insurance has gone up for everyone, so much so, that we actually created our own self-insurance program as a consequence.”

According to the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform website, “nuclear verdicts” are jury awards exceeding $10 million. This often happens in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits.

Brown said that more and more hospitals were leaving healthcare insurers to create their own insurance policies like CRMC did two years ago.

“Just the cost of being able to have malpractice insurance has gone up tremendously,” Brown said.

In spite of hospitals across the state providing quality healthcare and having no major lawsuits, he added.

He said that a couple of bad  lawsuits could absolutely destroy a hospital, particularly rural hospitals that were not-for-profit and were already barely edging by.

When asked about his outlook on individuals that want to pursue or are pursuing a career as a physician in Georgia, Brown said, “I think among medical students, who do become doctors, that they are less likely to work in the State of Georgia as a result of the concerns regarding medical liability.”

He said there’s a higher likelihood of being sued and a higher likelihood of losing a case. It could destroy a physician, even with malpractice insurance, he said, especially when the insurance doesn’t cover what the physician may have to pay in a lawsuit.

“Why would you want to work in a state where that’s even a question?” he asked.

“This is something that I’ve been fighting for, for years. Personally, I’ve absolutely been fighting for this,” he said and added that he has talked to legislators.

He said, on the issues of access to health care or the dearth of physicians in Georgia, the number one problem that physicians gave, throughout the state, was “tort reform” and the lack thereof.

“To me, this is a huge deal for insuring that our population gets the best physicians and gets the access to care that they need,” Brown said.