House debates edits to tort-caps proposal

The state House had a lengthy debate Friday on dueling revisions offered for a proposed constitutional amendment that would set limits on damages awarded in civil lawsuits.

By the end of the nearly two-hour discussion, lawmakers voted to leave Senate Joint Resolution 8 as it had been approved as revised by a committee on Thursday: a proposal to set the maximum limit in lawsuit awards at $500,000 for punitive damages and the same for noneconomic damages, which are for losses that don't have a monetary value.

Those caps have been pitched by SJR8 supporters as a way of creating a better business environment by reducing the liability Arkansans and corporations would face from potential lawsuits. However, opponents argue such limits on awards reduce Arkansans' access to justice. Previous attempts to enact tort-award limits in Arkansas have been rejected by courts in recent years.

Both chambers of the General Assembly must approve the resolution as amended before it can be referred to the voters on the November 2018 ballot.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/feb/25/house-debates-edits-to-tort-caps-propos-1/?f=news-politics

[font color=330099]A $500,000 cap on punitive damages is a drop in the hat for a large corporation and is so low that they may not have the incentive to correct the issue that lead to the award of damages. The $500,000 limit on noneconomic damages is also extremely low for an injury that will last for the life of the injured person or to the family who is handling the death of one of the economic providers within the household. The result of such low limits is that the injured person may have to enroll in other social service programs so that the cost is passed along to the taxpayer rather than being paid by the company that is either responsible or negligent pertaining to the cause of the injury.[/font]