Practicing law in Savannah, Georgia, attorney Douglas Herman handles diverse aspects of personal injury law, from medical malpractice to premises liability. Attorney Douglas Herman maintains a close watch on legal developments in his area of practice, including the 2025 Georgia Tort Reform Law.
Representing the most substantial updating of state tort laws in decades, Senate Bill 68 was signed by Governor Kemp and took effect on April 21, 2025. Among its major provisions is one on seatbelt admissibility, with evidence regarding seatbelt non-use now admissible when determining accident causation, negligence, and apportionment.
Prior to the bill’s enactment, the defense was prohibited, under Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) section 40-8-76, from informing the jury that a plaintiff had not been wearing a seatbelt. With the new law in place, the fact that the plaintiff was unbuckled is admissible at trial. It’s used in arguing comparative negligence, which alters the percentage fault placed on each contributor to the accident. Damages may be reduced as a result, as attorneys can claim that injuries wouldn’t have been as severe with proper seatbelt use.
Senate Bill 68 also places limits on “anchoring” and non-economic damages. These include emotional distress and suffering, which are now more challenging to quantify. During closing arguments, plaintiff attorneys are prohibited from suggesting damages in specific dollar amounts, unless trial evidence provides support. The aim is to address “anchoring,” or a tactic of suggesting high figures that may reflect values unrelated to the case when proposing pain and suffering settlements.
The new “phantom damages” rule in Senate Bill 68 seeks to make hospital payments more transparent. For many years, Georgia had a collateral source rule that prohibited juries from hearing the amount a hospital actually received in payment. This meant that damages had the billed amount as their basis. With SB 68, this has been flipped, with juries able to review the accepted payment, which may be half or less than the billed amount. With this “truth in damages for medical expenses” statute in place, juries have a more accurate damages calculation tool at hand.
A fourth major change in Senate Bill 68 is to allow bifurcated trials, with either party now able to request a split of a trial into two phases. One phase covers damages, and the other liability and fault apportionment. With certain exceptions, this law applies to cases that involve wrongful death or bodily injury and have more than $150,000 in controversy.
The reason for bifurcation is to prevent juries from being influenced by sympathy for injured plaintiffs, which can affect liability decisions. Juries that decide fault (in percentage terms) may arrive at a different decision if they haven’t heard about the injuries and gained an understanding of the totality of the case first. However, from the plaintiff’s perspective, bifurcation makes litigation more expensive and complex.
Another change worth noting is third-party litigation funding restrictions. Under Senate Bill 68, financiers of third-party suits must disclose and register their involvement. This transparency makes such financiers subject to discovery and liability for awards. For plaintiffs, this may decrease the funding available for major litigation, but it clarifies the parties bankrolling a particular suit.