Georgia Senate Bill 68: A Win for Businesses and Everyday Georgians

Georgia Senate Bill 68 (SB 68) strikes a balance between protecting businesses from frivolous lawsuits and ensuring fairness for everyday Georgians. By reforming the state’s tort system, SB 68 fosters a predictable legal environment that benefits small businesses, large employers, and consumers alike. 

Why Georgia Needs Tort Reform

Georgia has become known for its high-dollar lawsuit awards and litigation-friendly environment, driving up insurance costs for businesses and increasing the price of goods and services for consumers.

According to industry reports, business liability insurance premiums in Georgia are among the highest in the Southeast, largely due to excessive lawsuit awards and unpredictable litigation outcomes. This burden trickles down to consumers, who face higher costs for goods and services as businesses offset these rising expenses. Additionally, small businesses—already operating on thin profit margins—are particularly vulnerable to the financial strain of lawsuits, often being forced into costly settlements regardless of merit.

By implementing common-sense legal standards, SB 68 helps to ensure that the judicial system is fair, reasonable, and sustainable for businesses and individuals alike.

Key Benefits of SB 68 for Businesses

Lower Business Costs and Consumer Prices

• By limiting excessive lawsuit awards, SB 68 helps reduce business liability insurance costs.
• Lower insurance expenses allow businesses to invest in growth, hire more employees, and keep prices competitive for consumers.
• With fewer unwarranted legal expenses, businesses can focus on innovation, expansion, and improving employee benefits rather than litigation defense.

Protection from Frivolous Lawsuits

• The bill introduces safeguards against “nuclear verdicts”—jury awards that far exceed actual damages.
• Preventing manipulative legal tactics, like suggesting arbitrary pain-and-suffering damage amounts, ensures verdicts are based on facts, not emotion.
• By requiring stricter evidentiary standards, SB 68 discourages the exploitation of legal loopholes that encourage excessive claims.

Encourages Job Growth and Economic Investment

• A fairer legal system makes Georgia more attractive to investors and new businesses, leading to job creation and economic expansion.
• States with tort reform tend to see higher business confidence and lower unemployment rates.
• When businesses no longer have to fear runaway litigation costs, they are more likely to invest in hiring, infrastructure, and local communities. 

Why SB 68 Doesn’t Harm Everyday Georgians

While businesses benefit from these reforms, everyday Georgians still maintain their right to fair compensation in legitimate injury cases. The bill introduces common-sense legal standards to prevent abuse of the system, not to block rightful claims.

Injured Georgians Still Get Fair Compensation

• The bill does not cap damages—it simply prevents inflated, unrealistic claims.
• Georgians can still sue for legitimate medical expenses, lost wages, and actual pain and suffering.
• The legal system remains open for genuine victims, while reducing incentives for opportunistic or exaggerated claims.

Encourages Personal Responsibility

• Allowing seat belt usage as evidence in car accident cases means that individuals who take safety precautions aren’t penalized unfairly.
• This helps ensure liability is assigned fairly and accurately, rather than imposing unnecessary costs on businesses and insurers.

Ensures Property Owners Aren’t Unfairly Blamed for Crime

• Businesses and property owners are not automatically liable for crimes they couldn’t reasonably prevent.
• This helps small businesses avoid unfair lawsuits that could bankrupt them while still holding negligent landlords accountable.
• By focusing liability on preventable and foreseeable risks, SB 68 ensures fair outcomes for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Real-World Examples Where SB 68 Would Have Made a Difference

Samson Tours Case

• Samson Tours, an Atlanta-based business, was sued after a mother and child were struck by another driver at a school bus stop—despite Samson Tours having no direct involvement in the incident.
• The company was dragged into litigation and saw insurance premiums spike by 400%, illustrating how excessive lawsuits harm small businesses.
• SB 68’s stricter liability standards could have prevented such an unfair outcome.

Coen v. Aptean

• In this case, a plaintiff pursued an abusive litigation claim seeking excessive punitive damages against his employer.
• Courts ultimately limited his ability to claim punitive damages without substantial justification.
• SB 68 ensures that punitive damages are awarded only when warranted, discouraging retaliatory lawsuits against businesses.

Conclusion

Georgia Senate Bill 68 is a pro-business, pro-consumer reform that ensures fairness in the legal system. It reduces unnecessary costs for businesses while ensuring legitimate victims still receive fair compensation.



By preventing lawsuit abuse, SB 68 helps keep prices low, create jobs, and protect Georgia’s economic future—without taking away anyone’s rights.

If Georgia wants to remain a thriving, competitive business hub, passing SB 68 is a necessary step toward a fair and balanced legal system for all.