Rep. Delaney has introduced HB 1234 concerning tort claim caps. Under the proposed legislation, tort claim awards against the state and political subdivisions would be $1.3 million per person (up from $700k) and $22 million per event (up from $5 million.)
This is clearly a reaction to the State Fair weather disaster that caused more than $5 million in damages and, therefore, some folks stand not to be compensated for losses they suffered. Of course, that’s a risk we all face from getting harmed by someone or something without deep pockets. I wonder if the caps ought to somehow be a function of the tax base of the political subdivision — so much per taxpayer maybe. The State is obviously better able to sustain a $22 million burden than, say, the Town of Dayton. Some thought should also probably be given to the type of liability — higher limits for easily insured, discretionary activities, lower limits for harder-to-insure, mandatory activities (county jails are of particular interest to me).
Doug, interesting thought. I agree the State of Indiana can afford far more than say the Town of Worthington (my southern Indiana version of Dayton). Thanks for posting.
What they need to do is revisit the notice requirement for tort claims. The purpose was to give gov’t advance notice of a possible lawsuit in order to work on resolving an issue and avoiding attorney’s fees. Instead it’s just used as a “gotcha” to trap unsuspecting litigations who think they have the commonly two year statute of limitations they can rely on.
I find the notice helpful in securing evidence before the facts get stale in everyone’s mind.