Louisiana’s civil justice climate has a reputation as one of the worst in the country.
Each year, the first week in October is recognized as Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week by Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch and other civil justice reform organizations across the country.
During this week, LLAW is leading a grassroots effort aimed at informing citizens about the significant costs and economic consequences of lawsuit abuse in our state.
While the increasingly untenable cost of insurance continues to be of great concern for Louisianans, the impacts of lawsuit abuse go well beyond this single issue.
A fair and balanced civil justice system is good public policy, leading to a more stable, predictable business environment and further aligning Louisiana with other states.
Adopting measures that improve transparency across the system will encourage businesses to locate and/or expand here, help retain our best and brightest citizens and attract new talent to the state.
Transparency is critical in establishing and maintaining a civil justice system that serves all Louisianans, while leveling the playing field for businesses of all types and sizes.
Hardworking families and job creators pay the price when our system is not working as efficiently as it should, reflected in the availability and affordability of everyday goods and services.
Progress was made during the regular legislative session, including the repeal of the state’s direction action statute and more transparency in third-party litigation funding disclosure by both domestic and foreign interests.
While these changes represent progress, important legislation that would have allowed juries to see both the amount billed to a health care provider as well as the amount actually paid by insurance in injury cases was vetoed.
In order to see the greatest benefit, we must enact meaningful, comprehensive reforms that increase transparency.
A study by the Perryman Group for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse released earlier this year found that Louisiana continues to lose jobs and revenue because of the state’s civil justice system.
Excessive tort litigation in Louisiana resulted in annual average direct costs of more than $3 billion statewide, state gross product losses of nearly $4.5 billion and more than 40,500 lost jobs.
Additionally, state government losses totaled over $230 million, with local governments losing more than $192 million on average, annually.
As these statistics show, all Louisianans pay the price when the state’s legal system is abused. We hope that more Louisianans will join us in the fight to help end lawsuit abuse and bring more fairness and balance to our civil justice system – for all of us.
Lana Venable is the executive director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch
