By Angela Speir Phelps and Danny Orrock
There’s been a lot of chatter about the Supreme Court of Georgia’s decision to overturn caps on damages for victims of medical malpractice. It’s understandable this would generate interest, since it affects our most basic rights as citizens.
In 2005, Senate Bill 3 was heralded as a fix for many of the ills facing the health care industry. Read more
ATLANTA – Georgia Watch is urging the state legislature to pass meaningful ethics reform. The current bill does not restrict lobbyists from giving gifts to legislators. In fact, it specifically exempts lobbyists from having to disclose the “reimbursement or payment of actual and reasonable expenses for food, beverages, travel, transportation, lodging, registration and other related activities for a meeting which is provided to a public officer to permit such public officer’s participation in such meeting.” Read more
On March 22 the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that a controversial law capping the amount of money an injured patient could recover from a negligent medical provider is unconstitutional. The 7-0 decision was written by Justice Hunstein. Senate Bill 3, enacted in 2005, stated that a victim of medical malpractice could be limited in the amount of damages they can receive from a jury verdict, even if the harm caused was catastrophic in nature. Read more
The following is a short film on Betty Nestlehutt. After receiving plastic surgery, Mrs. Nestlehutt, 72, was left with severe injuries to her face. Her ordeal and the botched procedure has caused Georgia’s arbitrary $350k cap on damages to come under fire at the GA Supreme Court. Warning: This film includes graphic images and may upset some viewers.
By Matt Bouillon and Danny Orrock
Georgia Watch is keeping a keen eye on Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Betty & Bruce Nestlehutt at the State Supreme Court that is challenging the cap on non-economic damages in the 2005 tort reform law. Non-economic damages are appropriate in cases where the jury wishes to compensate the injured party for harm that goes beyond lost wages or work opportunities. Pain and suffering, loss of normal marital relations (consortium), and physical injury or disfigurement are all non-monetary losses that fit in this category. Not surprisingly, amounts of non-economic damages can vary widely among cases and jurisdictions. Read more
Court Watch released its second annual report analyzing consumer-related decisions issued by the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Georgia Court of Appeals. Court Watch is a project of Georgia Watch, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group committed to strengthening the rights of consumers in Georgia… Read the rest of this entry »
Every year, the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Georgia Court of Appeals issue decisions that significantly impact the rights that consumers have under the law. Because many of these decisions are not covered by the news media, Court Watch is dedicated to informing the public about the court decisions that affect consumer rights the most. Each year Georgia Watch offers a fellowship to a single law student to research various cases that are tried in the Court of Appeals to determine which are most appropriate for the report.
Learn about Mike Rodgers, the 2008 Court Watch Fellow here.
In January 2007, Court Watch released its first annual report analyzing consumer-related decisions issued by the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Contributors to the research and production of this report include 2007 Court Watch Fellowship recipient Nathan Gaffney and the Court Watch Advisory Committee.
The “2007 Annual Report” identifies and profiles the most noteworthy consumer-related decisions released by the appellate courts throughout the year, and identifies emerging trends.
In 2005 , the Georgia General Assembly delivered a present to Big Insurance, the hospital and medical lobbies, and corporate giants Georgia Pacific, Home Depot, Georgia Power and Coca-Cola. It was called Senate Bill 3, and it severely changed the state’s justice system.
Despite decades of dangerous recalls and fraudulent drug trials related to FDA-approved drugs and medical devices, Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) filed Senate Bill 101 which would extend immunity from civil lawsuits filed in Georgia to Georgia-based pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of FDA-approved products.
Tort Reform
Tort reform refers to proposed changes in the civil justice system that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort is a system for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to another’s person, property or other protected interests. Tort reform advocates like Georgia Watch, focus on personal injury in particular. Read the rest of this entry »