Georgia Tort Reform Overview

At Gallagher Bassett, we believe timely and effective communication is the cornerstone of excellence in our business to maintain trust, alignment, and confidence with our clients and partners. To continue delivering service excellence, our team remains up to date with new or amended laws and helps our clients navigate these changes through our team's expertise and solutions tailored to their programs.

A recent Georgia tort reform bill introduces immediate changes to the state's civil litigation rules, which may impact pre-litigated and litigated matters.

What is Changing in the Georgia Tort Reform Bill

Effective April 21, 2025, the law amends Titles 9, 40, and 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, focusing on civil practice, motor vehicles, and torts, specifically:

• Noneconomic damages: For litigated matters, attorneys may only discuss noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, after the close of evidence and during their first opportunity to address damages. These restrictions aim to prevent jury bias against defendants.
• Stay of discovery: The revised statute ensures that discovery will not begin until a motion to dismiss has been ruled on by the court or until a defendant files an answer. If the court has not ruled on the motion to dismiss within 90 days following the conclusion of the briefing on such motion, the court may terminate or modify the stay.
• Voluntary dismissal: An amendment to Code Section 9-11-41 outlines the rules for voluntary dismissal of actions and limits a plaintiff's ability to voluntarily dismiss a case without the court's permission and the defendant's consent.
• Attorney fees: A new statute allows plaintiffs to recover attorney fees under both O.C.G.A. § 13-6-11 and O.C.G.A. § 9-11-68 but prevents double recovery of the same fees in a single case unless explicitly permitted by the statutes. This section does not affect any contractual rights to recover attorney's fees, court costs, or litigation expenses.
• Seat belt evidence: The amendment to Code Section 40-8-76.1 of Title 40 allows the failure of a motor vehicle occupant to wear a seatbelt to be admissible evidence in civil actions concerning negligence, comparative negligence, causation, assumption of risk, or apportionment of fault. However, not wearing a seatbelt cannot be used as a basis for canceling insurance coverage or increasing insurance rates.
• Negligent security/premises liability: Title 51 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, concerning torts, has been amended and defines negligent security as claims against property owners, occupiers, or security contractors for failing to keep premises safe from third-party wrongful conduct. The article specifies that liability is limited to cases where the owner or occupier had prior knowledge of potential risks and failed to take reasonable care. It also establishes that owners or occupiers are not liable for injuries to trespassers or for wrongful conduct occurring off-premises.
• Medical damages presentation/phantom damages: The new law requires that special damages for medical and healthcare expenses be limited to the reasonable value of medically necessary care, as determined by the trier of fact, to prevent phantom damages.
• Trial bifurcation: In any action to recover damages for bodily injury or wrongful death, any party may elect to have fault and any award of damages determined at trial through a first (assessing fault) and second phase (determining compensatory damages).

All Gallagher Bassett teams managing Georgia liability claims are aware of the tort reform changes, ensuring that claims filed after April 21, 2025, can be handled effectively. This includes facilitating discussions with clients and defense counsel to determine if these changes will impact the defense strategies of existing or future litigation. Additionally, we are reviewing current operational controls to assess whether adjustments are needed or if new controls should be implemented to ensure compliance with the new laws.

If you have questions on how this could impact claims management on your program, please reach out to your client services manager for more detailed information.