Louisiana's 'tort reform' talk has shaky foundations

The “tort reform” idea being discussed so frequently by the Louisiana business community this Christmas season really started three days into George W. Bush’s tenure as Texas governor in January 1995.

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Louisiana soon followed Texas and passed laws that insulated corporations from lawsuits. But that was two decades ago, and now the business community wants more.

A deluge of recent reports has led to demands for rolling back laws that, in the words of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack, “create a robust and competitive business environment for trial lawyers,” who are the legal representatives of people suing companies for personal injuries.

When the session starts in April, LABI — and others — want lawmakers to push bills that would allow juries to find out if the person injured in a car wreck was wearing a seat belt. Injuries tend to be more significant when seat belts are not attached. They also want to lower the jury threshold — that is, allow juries rather than judges to hear trials when the damages being sought are less than $50,000.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/mark_ballard/article_967b1734-0549-11e9-8d93-c7d47bbe9797.html