Georgia Tort Reform SB 68: What Changed for People Hurt in Car and Truck Crashes

Georgia tort reform SB 68, signed April 21, 2025, changed how injury cases from car and truck crashes are proven, argued, and tried. It did not cap what a jury can award. Some changes apply only to crashes on or after April 21, 2025, while others reach cases that were already pending. Here is what each change means for you, in plain English.

When Each Change Applies

The effective-date rules are not the same for every part of the law. SB 68 took effect April 21, 2025. Section 9(b) of the act sets the rules, and a companion bill, SB 69, changed one of them:

• Medical expense rules (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1) and negligent security rules (O.C.G.A. § 51-3-50 and following). These apply only to causes of action arising on or after April 21, 2025. Earlier claims are “governed by prior law” (Ga. L. 2025, p. 19, § 9(b)).
• Seat belt evidence (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d)). SB 69 made the same change and was signed last, so its timing rule controls. It applies only to cases commenced (filed) on or after April 21, 2025 (Ga. L. 2025, p. 31, § 5(c)(2)).
• Everything else. Trial phases, damages arguments, motions to dismiss, voluntary dismissals, and attorney fee awards also apply to causes of action that were already pending on April 21, 2025, “unless such application would be unconstitutional” (Ga. L. 2025, p. 19, § 9(b)).

Medical Bills: What Was Charged and What Was Actually Paid

For crashes on or after April 21, 2025, you can recover only the “reasonable value of medically necessary care” (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(b)). If you have health insurance, the jury can hear both what your providers charged and the amounts actually needed to satisfy those charges under your plan. That is true “regardless of whether the health insurance has been used, is used, or will be used” (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(c)).

When the Governor first proposed the law in January 2025, his office called this issue “Phantom Damages,” meaning billed amounts that may differ from what is paid. The law still lets either side challenge whether a bill was reasonable or the care necessary (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(f)).

Letters of Protection

Some people treat under a letter of protection, where a provider waits to be paid from a settlement or verdict. For those claims, the defense can now get a copy of the letter and itemized, coded bills (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(d)). If the provider sold the bill to a third party for less than the invoice price, the buyer’s name and price are discoverable. So is whether someone referred you for that treatment, and who.

What it means for you: Keep your health insurance statements and explanation of benefits forms. Use your health insurance when you can, and ask a lawyer before signing a letter of protection.

Seat Belt Evidence Can Now Come In

In cases filed on or after April 21, 2025, not wearing a seat belt can be admitted as evidence. It can go to negligence, comparative negligence, causation, assumption of risk, or apportionment of fault, and it can be used to reduce a recovery (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d)(1)). The judge can still keep it out under Georgia’s evidence rules, including Code Section 24-4-403.

Georgia already reduces your damages by your share of fault, and bars recovery at 50% or more (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33). Seat belt evidence gives the defense another way to argue your share. Not wearing a seat belt also cannot be a basis to cancel your insurance or raise your rate (O.C.G.A. § 40-8-76.1(d)(2)).

Fault First, Then Damages

Any party in a bodily injury or wrongful death case can now demand that the jury decide fault before damages (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15(a)). The demand must be in writing, before the pretrial order. The trial runs in phases:

1. Fault. The jury decides whether each defendant was at fault and assigns percentages of fault.
2. Compensatory damages. If a defendant was at fault, the same judge and jury decide the damages.
3. Further proceedings. If damages are awarded, the trial may continue on punitive damages and attorney fees.

A court can reject the demand only on a party’s motion and in limited cases. These include an amount in controversy under $150,000 (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15(b)).

What it means for you: In the first phase, the evidence and arguments are limited to fault (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-15(a)(1)). Your case on fault has to stand on its own, which makes early crash evidence important.

Limits on Arguing a Number for Pain and Suffering

Lawyers can still ask a jury for a specific amount for pain and suffering, but only in argument after the evidence closes. Under the new rule, counsel may argue the worth of noneconomic damages only after the close of evidence, at that party’s first opportunity to argue damages (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-184(c)(1)). The argument must be “rationally related to the evidence,” and counsel cannot refer to objects or values that have no rational connection to the facts proved.

Before then, lawyers cannot mention a specific amount or range to the jury or potential jurors (O.C.G.A. § 9-10-184(b)). The Governor’s office stated that the law “does NOT place a cap on the amount of money a jury may award.”

What it means for you: Pain and suffering is still recoverable. But the number must connect to proof, such as medical records and testimony about how the injury changed your daily life.

Motions to Dismiss Now Pause Discovery

If a defendant files a motion to dismiss before answering, discovery is stayed until the court rules (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(j)(1)). The stay ends early for a defendant who files an answer first. The court “shall decide the motion” within 90 days after briefing ends. Before SB 68, the stay lasted 90 days or until the ruling, whichever came first.

Some limited discovery is still allowed, such as to identify parties who should be added (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(j)(4)). If the court denies the motion, the defendant generally has 15 days after notice to answer (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-12(a)(2)).

What it means for you: A lawsuit can take longer to reach the stage where you get the other side’s records. That is one reason to gather and preserve evidence before you file.

Less Time to Dismiss and Refile

A plaintiff can now dismiss a case without the court’s permission only before the 60th day after the defendant serves an answer (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41(a)(1)(A)). Before SB 68, the deadline was “before the first witness is sworn.” After the 60 days, dismissal requires a signed stipulation from all parties or a court order (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-41(a)(1)(B), (a)(3)).

What it means for you: A case needs to be ready when it is filed, because the option to dismiss and refile closes early.

No Double Recovery of Attorney Fees

A party cannot recover the same attorney fees, court costs, or litigation expenses more than once under different statutes, unless a statute specifically allows it (O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16(a)). When a statute allows “reasonable” attorney fees, the contingency fee agreement cannot be used to prove the fees were reasonable (O.C.G.A. § 9-15-16(b)). Contract rights to fees are not affected (§ 9-15-16(c)).

Negligent Security, Briefly

SB 68 also created new rules for negligent security claims against property owners when someone is hurt by a third party’s crime (O.C.G.A. § 51-3-50 through § 51-3-57). Flack Injury Law does not handle premises or negligent security cases. We focus on motor vehicle crashes.

What SB 68 Means if You Were Hurt in a Crash

SB 68 did not take away your right to recover for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. It changed what evidence comes in and how it is argued. Three steps matter more now:

1. Get medical care right away, and follow through. Records made close to the crash link your injuries to it, and those records drive the damages case.
2. Keep every bill and insurance statement. For crashes on or after April 21, 2025, what your health plan actually paid can be evidence (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-1.1(c)).
3. Talk to a lawyer early. Fault may be tried alone first, and discovery can pause. A lawyer can preserve crash evidence and build the fault case before suit. Georgia generally allows 2 years to file an injury lawsuit (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33).

For a truck crash, see what to do if you were hit by a semi truck in Georgia. To understand how a claim is valued, read determining the value of your personal injury case in Georgia.

How Flack Injury Law Can Help

Flack Injury Law is an Atlanta firm in Midtown that represents injured people in car and truck crashes someone else caused. Founding attorney Jonathan Flack has been licensed in Georgia since 2016. Before founding the firm, he spent two and a half years on the insurance side of commercial truck, tractor-trailer and medical transport van cases. He works directly on every case and speaks Spanish with clients without an interpreter. Learn more about our Atlanta car accident attorney page.

The firm recovered $650,000 for a client hurt in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer in Peachtree City. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Questions About Georgia Tort Reform

Talk to an Atlanta Injury Lawyer About How SB 68 Affects Your Claim

If you were hurt in a car or truck crash, Jonathan Flack can explain how SB 68 applies to your case, in English or Spanish. Consultations are free.

There is no fee and no case cost unless the firm recovers money for you. Call Flack Injury Law at (678) 653-0309 or contact us online.

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