"Appeals Court Throws a Wrench into Part of Georgia's 2025 Tort-Reform Law"

Swift Currie partner Gillian Crowl-Parrish was featured in an article for Insurance Journal discussing how the Georgia Court of Appeals' first ruling on the state's 2025 tort-reform law, which allows injury testimony in the first phase of a trial, may undercut the law's goal of keeping sympathy out of fault decisions.

“I do believe this is contrary to the intent of the law. This is not what we expected on the defense side when the reforms came out,” Crowl-Parrish said.

The court found that, under Georgia law, proving fault requires proving both injury and proximate causation, so the trial court acted within its discretion by allowing Bennett to describe his injuries and their extent during the first phase of the trial. Crowl-Parrish disagreed with the court's ruling.

If the ruling is upheld, insurers will likely need to prepare for plaintiffs presenting graphic details of an accident-related injury or death. “Not every case needs to be trifurcated,” Crowl-Parrish noted.

To view the full article, you may click here.