As I have mentioned in these articles before, I travel a lot. By “a lot” I mean “a whole lot.” Sometimes the travel is to great locations. Sometimes it is not.

With that in mind, I just returned from the ATA Mid-Year Management Sessions in Hollywood, Florida. This definitely falls into the “great location” category. For those keeping score at home, Hollywood is just north of Miami. So, the weather is great and the views spectacular. In fact, the view out of my room overlooked the beach and the ocean. Of course, this reminded me of the views I enjoy in Oklahoma. Except my waterfront views in Oklahoma generally consist of a muddy farm pond surrounded by cattle.

Apart from being in a wonderful location, the speakers and subject matter of the conference were great. In fact, one of my favorite things was a discussion between various state association leaders discussing their victories in tort reform.

Now before I get on my soapbox, it is important to understand that arguments for tort reform have been around for a million years. For the most part, it is promoted by businesses that have been on the receiving end of massive judgements. Think medical malpractice and trucking accidents.

Personal injury cases consist of two separate elements: liability and damages. In order to receive damages, it must first be shown that a defendant is liable. In other words, that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff and the duty was somehow breached. For a plaintiff to receive money they must show not only liability but the fact that they suffered damages as a result. Think of the typical car wreck case…in this scenario the plaintiff suffers damage to the car and medical expenses. As a result, the defendant must compensate the plaintiff for damages to the car and medical expenses.

In simple terms, tort reform is a change to the laws surrounding civil litigation to moderate the costs of excessive litigation. What this means, among other things, is that the ability of plaintiff’s attorneys to introduce “fictitious” medical expenses/phantom damages at trial is greatly curtailed. It is these types of claims that have led to a climate of lawsuit abuse, increases in insurance costs and additional stress to the supply chain.

In fact, ATA President and CEO Chris Spear recently said “We mean what we said about lawsuit abuse – enough is enough. When the plaintiff’s bar perverts civil litigation into a profit center to line their pockets, the costs are borne by everyone – not just trucking companies, but consumers too in the form of higher insurance rates and higher prices for everyday goods.”

As I mentioned, the tort reform movement has been around since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but it is now beginning to gain momentum. In March, Florida Gov. DeSantis signed House Bill 637 into law. This provides legislation to reform the civil litigation system.

Under this new law, the ability of plaintiff’s lawyers to introduce fictitious and inflated medical bills at trial is limited. Of course, there are certain exceptions to most tort reform laws related to crashes (drunk driving, reckless behavior) but in general, tort reform legislation makes it much more difficult for a plaintiff to obtain a nuclear verdict. This is important for smaller carriers who would likely go out of business without limitations on the amount juries can award.

For what it is worth, Florida is not alone in passing tort reform legislation. In fact, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Texas and West Virginia have already enacted tort reform in some manner. While this is a victory in those states the real victory will come when we get some type of reasonable tort reform enacted nationwide that allows something as critical to the supply chain as the trucking industry to operate without fear of excessive, and often irrational, judgments.

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Tort Reform