The Ohio General Assembly recently passed SB 80, the comprehensive lawsuit reform bill, and HB 498, the workers' compensation intentional tort bill.
Insurance trade groups applauded the legislation. “The growth of the lawsuit industry has exploded in recent years, with a new lawsuit being filed every two seconds and class action lawsuits having grown over 1,000 percent in the past decade,” said Greg LaCost, regional manager and senior counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. “As one of the largest private purchasers of legal services, the property/casualty industry is uniquely affected by the nation's legal system.”
“Passing tort reform is a win for all Ohioans because it helps bring fairness and predictability to the civil liability system,” said Sean McManamy, assistant vice president, Midwest region for the American Insurance Association. “With the passage of SB 80, citizens of Ohio maintain all their legal rights to sue as well as to be compensated for acts of negligence.”
Senate Bill 80 is a comprehensive tort reform measure that provides for numerous improvements to Ohio's legal structure. In addition to placing a $500,000 cap on awards for pain and suffering in non-catastrophic cases, the bill gives judges broader authority to review non-economic damage awards for catastrophic injuries. The bill also includes caps on punitive damages of $350,000 per plaintiff for non-catastrophic injuries, with a maximum of $500,000 per occurrence, establishes a statute of repose at 10 years for certain product liability claims, modifies the state's collateral source rule, and establishes a provision to permit evidence of non-use of seat belts to mitigate non-economic damages. The bill does not limit a plaintiff's ability to collect compensation for lost wages, medical, or other out-of-pocket expenses.
HB 498 clarifies intentional tort in the state's workers' compensation system by providing that, when an employer deliberately removes an equipment safety guard or deliberately misrepresents a toxic or hazardous substance, a rebuttable presumption exists that the injury or occupational disease occurred as a direct result of the employer's action. The bill also eliminates double recovery for the same workplace incident.
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