Tennessee lawmakers heard more testimony Wednesday on the governor’s tort reform bill that would cap financial awards in some personal injury lawsuits, but postponed any vote while still more amendments have been filed.
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Governor Bill Haslam has amended his bill to raise those caps, but lawmakers put off a decision on the changes. Earlier this week, tort reform supporters began promoting a 17-page rewrite of the governor’s proposal, which would set limits on some non-economic damages that might by awarded in a civil suit.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee put off taking up that re-write but listened briefly to Tennesseans who were victims of medical or other missteps and who had to sue companies to recover damages.
Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson has been lobbying against the tort reform measure. He says the new caps offered in the governor’s amendment – higher than the original figures – improve the bill. “If you’re gonna have caps, it needs to be at a reasonable level. The governor’s caps are better than some …they’re not quite what I would prefer.”