Between premises liability and trucking cases, 2023 has been a year when Georgia plaintiffs have been securing record verdicts. It’s no surprise, perhaps, that tort reform is back on the agenda as lawmakers prepare for 2024.

In the latest indicator of this legislative trend, the Georgia Senate Study Committee on Truck Driver Shortages has recommended repealing the state’s direct-action statute. The statute on the chopping block allows individuals injured in trucking accidents to sue the insurance companies of the trucking firms directly. It may pump the brakes on “nuclear verdicts,” a term which was first used by insurers in trucking cases and is defined as verdicts of $10 million or more.