Tennessee Injury Law Center
Fifteen years ago, the Tennessee Legislature passed the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011 and the bill was signed by then Governor Bill Haslam. Commonly referred to as “tort reform” because it allegedly fixed abuses in the civil justice system, it could be called the “Wrongdoer Protection Act” because of the protection it provides to individuals and corporations that cause harm to others. Regardless of how you feel about the Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011, most reasonable people would say that the value of a dollar has dramatically changed in 15 years. Yet, the monetary limits contained within the Act have not increased at all. Understandably, most Tennesseans do not have any idea of the Act’s impact unless or until they or a loved one has been seriously injured. So, let’s examine what the Tennessee Civil Justice Act also known as tort reform did to the rights of injury victims and their families.
The Tennessee Civil Justice Act classifies damages into two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages consist of items in which the amount is readily ascertainable: medical bills, lost wages, loss of future income, future medical expenses, etc. Non-economic damages are items that are not related to a specific dollar amount but are nonetheless injuries or losses. Examples of non-economic damages are pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.
Before the passage of “tort reform”, a jury or a judge decided the amount of compensation that was warranted by the evidence. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, a Tennessee jury is composed of twelve individuals. In other states, juries are composed of 6 or 8 individuals. Furthermore, in Tennessee, unless the parties agree otherwise, the jury verdict must be unanimous. In other states, a simple majority will suffice. A unanimous jury verdict requirement is generally regarded by experts as being a benefit to a defendant, and especially so when the jury is comprised of 12 people. So for an injury victim or the victim’s family to receive any compensation, a 12-person jury must be unanimously convinced by the evidence presented at trial and decide on the proper amount of compensation.
After the jury verdict, if a defendant believes the jury was wrong or that the amount of compensation was excessive, there are multiple paths of recourse available. Post-trial motions including a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, a motion for a new trial, a motion for remittitur (to reduce the amount of the jury verdict) can be filed with the trial judge even before an appeal is taken. In addition to the oversight at the trial court level, a defendant who believes the jury got it wrong can take an automatic, no-permission-needed appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals where three judges will accept briefs and hear arguments on what the defendant believes went wrong at the trial or with the jury’s verdict. If the panel of judges at the Court of Appeals does not agree, the defendant can go another step and ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to review the case.
Despite all of these procedural safeguards built into the legal system to prevent an unjust result, the Tennessee Legislature nonetheless thought that system needed to be reformed and their judgement, without knowing any facts of a particular case, should be substituted for a jury of twelve individuals that the parties themselves selected, a trial judge, a panel of judges at the Court of Appeals and potentially the Supreme Court, all of whom heard or reviewed the facts and evidence in the case. And that is what they did. After the passage of “tort reform”, regardless of the harm and the amount of evidence, non-economic damages are capped at $750,000 or $1 million for certain exceptional cases. So under the current law, the winner of the reality TV show Survivor where contestants compete in the wild for 26 days, less than a month, and someone who will spend the rest of their life as a quadriplegic will get the same amount (for non-economic damages).
As for punitive damages, which are damages designed to punish or deter a wrongdoer, the injury victim has even higher hurdles. They must prove by clear and convincing evidence, rather than the normal preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant acted intentionally, knowingly, carelessly or recklessly as opposed to merely negligently. Just like with compensatory damages, all the procedural safeguards involving the trial judge and appellate review are in place in the event a defendant disagrees with the imposition or amount of punitive damages. Nonetheless, yet again, the Tennessee Legislature decided to implement a one size fits all change to Tennessee law. Under “tort reform” even if the defendant crosses the extra hurdles, the punitive damages are capped at $500,000 or two times the amount of compensatory damages whichever is higher. Further, under “tort reform”, punitive damages are prohibited in some cases.
The Tennessee Civil Justice Act gave wrongdoers a lot of protection in 2011. The passage of time has given them another one. As we can all attest, the value of the dollar has changed over the last 15 years, but the caps established by “tort reform” have not changed nor is there any procedure or requirement in place for them to be adjusted over time or even in accordance with inflation. (The same is true in other areas of State law including car insurance, which will be the subject of another post.) Perhaps rather than worrying about whether Tennesseans can eat roadkill, the Tennessee Legislature should worry about whether Tennesseans will receive fair compensation from wrongdoers when they are hurt or killed.
If you are surprised or concerned about the erosion of your legal rights, call your State representatives. If you are seriously injured and want to understand your legal rights, call us.
Nashville: 615-669-3993
Murfreesboro: 615-867-9900
Brentwood: 615-742-4880
Toll-Free 866-812-8787