Significant changes have been introduced in the form of legal reforms that impact directly car accident lawsuits, they can be outlined as: 

• Senate Bill 68: Known also by the Georgia tort reform bill, it’s a reform passed on March 21st, 2025. It mainly aims to amend Titles 9, 13, 14 and 51 of the official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practices, contracts, motor vehicles, and torts, respectively. When in comes to car accident lawsuits, this bill has some key provisions that could impact them significantly, such as:

• Restrictions on Evidence: As of 2025, when determining punitive damages, the defendant’s financial status is no longer admissible. In addition, there are now limits imposed on the defendant’s criminal history, unless it’s directly related to the case in question.
• Limitations on pain and suffering testimony: In simple terms, there will be a limit on how much a plaintiff can ask in order to be compensated for emotional distress. 
• Restriction on Special Damages for Medical Bills: Now, according to the recent bill, a plaintiff can only be compensated for how much he paid in medical expenses, not billed.
• Modified Comparative Negligence: If you happen to be found partially at fault in a car accident, this would only mean that your compensation will decrease proportionally. In this case, legal counsel can be of great help in minimizing fault by challenging these claims.
• Admissibility of Seat Belt Negligence: As stated in subsection ‘d’ in Code Section 40-8-71.1, failure to wear a seat safety belt may be considered in any civil action as contributory negligence, causation, assumption of risk… which will potentially reduce your compensation.
• Caps on Punitive Damages: Under the new legal reform, these damages are now capped at $500.000 (for the accused of reckless driving or DUI). In contrast, in cases involving drunk driving or rabies driving accidents, the cap is at 1 million dollars.
• Jury Discretion on Non-Economic Damages: It’s essentially a provision stating that only the non-economic damages can only be measured by the enlightened conscience of the jury according to subsection ‘b’ of Code Section 9-10-184.
• Bifurcation of Trials: Now, punitive damages trials will bifurcate in separate phases for liability and damages assessments. The goal of these new trial procedures is to enhance fairness and predictability.

• Florida’s House Reform Bill 837: became effective March 24, 2023. It’s a reform that altered significantly how personal injury cases are now interpreted, in the sense that the bill aims to revise civil procedures, admissibility of evidence and liability in tort claims, in order to decrease frivolous lawsuits and prevent predatory practices of attorneys. The key provisions of HB 837 are:

• Reduction in Statute of Limitations: Now, unlike the last reform, the statute of limitations for claims based on negligence is two years instead of four years.
• Attorney’s Fees: Aiming to keep costs simpler, HB 837 eliminated one-way attorney’s fees in first party cases. In simple terms, other than some exceptions, an attorney’s fee is only based on the number of hours they times their hourly rate (lodestar method).
• Restrictions on Medical Expenses: In an effort to lower damages awards, HB 837 now limits how much money may be charged by the provider and what may be admitted into evidence, and that essentially happens through what we call Letters of Protection.
• Modified Comparative Negligence: Now, if the plaintiff is 50% at fault or more, then there won’t be damages recovered from the defendant. 
• Bad Faith Claims: they cannot be mentioned if the insurer tenders its policy limits or if within 90 days, no amount demanded has been tendered after receiving notice of claim.

• Texas’s House Bill 1745: passed on September 1, 2023. It’s a reform relating generally to vicarious liability of transportation network companies for acts of a driver using the company’s digital network such as Uber, Lyft, etc. The key provision relevant to car accident lawsuits is: 
• Shift of Burden of Proof: Now, the one filing the claim (the claimant) must prove gross negligence. As an example, if an accident is caused due to reckless driving(in an Uber), you would have to prove the company’s liability for hiring a reckless driver, which could be very challenging. 

• Iowa’s Senate Bill 228: Passed on May 12, 2023. A bill for an act relating to tort liability. Including employer liability and damages in civil lawsuits involving commercial motor vehicles. According to this bill, in an effort to limit non-economic damages in accidents involving trucks, the cap is now at $5million. These limitations impact directly the compensation of pain of suffering, mental anguish and loss of consortium. This way, insurance companies, knowing that there is a cap on damages, would offer lower settlements.