The Louisiana governor did not agree with other lawmakers in the state, who had passed a new bill that would reform the way car accident damages are handled. The bill sought to limit how much could be obtained in a lawsuit, and the trade-off was that those who supported the bill said car insurance rates would go down as a result.
However, when the bill landed on his desk, the governor said he did not have enough assurance that the rates really would drop. Lacking that, he saw no reason to limit damage claims, and so he vetoed the bill.
Insurance companies were brought in and asked if the bill would reduce rates, and not one was willing to say that it definitely would. The governor also noted that the bill did not make a reduction mandatory. That left insurance companies with the option of reducing rates should they see fit — something that may be unlikely to happen. In fact, the governor noted that certain language in the bill would even have let companies increase their rates.
He did not seem to reject the premise of the bill outright. In that sense, there is still a chance that a revised version could make its way back to his desk. But, as it was written at this time, he did not see enough of a benefit for citizens to consider any sort of cap on lawsuit damages.
This is big news for those involved in car accidents, who have doubtless been following this story closely. They need to know exactly what options they have to seek proper compensation for their medical bills and other costs.
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