Provides limitations relative to claims for general damages

House Bill 118 enacts a new statute, R.S. 22:1899, that establishes a damages cap in delictual actions under Louisiana law. The statute defines general damages as subjective, nonpecuniary damages including pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, physical impairment, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life, while defining special damages as objectively verifiable pecuniary losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, and property damage. The core mechanism caps the tortfeasor's liability for general damages at five million dollars per claimant or plaintiff in any single delictual action. The statute explicitly provides that juries shall not be informed of this limitation during trial, but courts are required to reduce any jury verdict for general damages that exceeds the five million dollar threshold. The statute includes a savings clause clarifying that it does not create new causes of action or alter what types of damages are recoverable under the Louisiana Civil Code.

This legislation directly impacts plaintiffs in tort cases, defendants and their insurers, and the judiciary. Individuals injured through the negligence or wrongful conduct of others will face a hard cap on recovery for noneconomic losses regardless of the severity of their injuries or the extent of their suffering. Defendants and liability insurers benefit from a predictable upper limit on their exposure for general damages in any single case. Trial courts gain an obligation to police jury verdicts and reduce awards that exceed the statutory limit, converting what may have been unlimited jury discretion into a post-verdict judicial function. The practical effect is most significant for catastrophic injury cases where juries might otherwise award substantial sums for pain, suffering, and loss of life enjoyment; under this bill, those awards cannot exceed five million dollars per person even in cases involving severe permanent disability or wrongful death.

This statute operates within Louisiana's civil law tradition and its comprehensive damages framework found in the Louisiana Civil Code. Louisiana law recognizes both economic and noneconomic damages in delictual actions, and this bill modifies that framework by imposing a monetary ceiling on noneconomic recovery. The provision that juries remain uninformed of the cap while courts enforce it reflects principles of jury trial practice while preserving judicial authority to enforce statutory limits. The savings clause in subsection D protects the integrity of existing Civil Code provisions governing the nature and elements of delictual liability, emphasizing that this bill is purely a limitation device rather than a substantive redefinition of tort law itself. The statute's placement in Title 22 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which addresses insurance, suggests the legislature viewed this measure as related to insurance and risk allocation, though its application extends to all delictual actions regardless of insurance coverage.