(The Center Square) – Court verdicts exceeding $10 million are costing Georgians money and jobs, according to a report issued by the American Tort Reform Association.
Georgia ranked fourth in the organization’s “Judicial Hellholes” report, dropping from the top spot only because other states had a larger volume of “abuses.”
Awards of $10 million or more, dubbed “nuclear verdicts,” are leading more companies to settle for millions, the report said. One example is a $50 million verdict in a Dekalb County dental malpractice case where the patient said she was in pain after a root canal. The case was previously tried, and jurors returned a $10 million verdict, which was vacated after a judge said the damages were “more punitive than appropriate” and “contrary to the evidence,” according to the report.
Businesses fear excessive verdicts and are now settling cases for millions. A Gwinnett County driver involved in a wreck with a tractor-trailer received a $32.5 million settlement even though the defendants denied wrongdoing.
A Gwinnett County jury also handed down a $1.7 billion verdict against Ford Motor Company. The case involved the death of a couple in a roll-over accident in one of the automaker’s Super-Duty trucks. The Georgia Court of Appeals overturned the verdict in November, in part because Ford was not allowed to introduce evidence about the couple’s seatbelt usage. The association called the seatbelt gag rule “archaic.”
Nuclear verdicts cost Georgians a “tort tax” of $1,372.94 each year, according to the association, which quoted numbers from a Perryman Group study. The study also said 137,658 jobs were lost annually because of the high verdicts.
State officials have tort reform on their radar as they move into the 2025 legislative session. Gov. Brian Kemp held the last of three roundtable discussions on tort reform in October at a metro Atlanta Waffle House.
“The unfortunate reality is our current litigation climate has led to increased costs for consumers and a higher barrier to entry for those who want to create jobs in our state,” Kemp said in a statement after the roundtable.
Insurance Commissioner John King released a report in November that showed the number of tort claims filed between 2019-2023 was nearly 25% higher than the number filed between 2014 and 2018. About 89% of all claims were private passenger auto liability, according to King’s report. The rising number of claims is leading to higher insurance costs.
“When I think about lawsuit abuse reform, I think about the thousands of Georgia families who will be stuck in food deserts and struggle to meet their basic needs when these stores are forced to close,” King said in a statement after Kemp’s October roundtable. “I think about the small business owners, who cannot afford their insurance because they must pay for the criminal actions of people who may come to their business.”
