Committee advances suite of civil‑law bills aimed at auto insurance, medical billing and comparative fault

The House Civil Law and Procedure Committee advanced multiple bills April 15 intended to change how courts handle personal‑injury claims, medical billing evidence and fault allocation — reforms proponents say are needed to ease Louisiana’s high insurance costs.

The committee voted to move five bills to the full House: a prescriptive‑period cleanup (HB291), higher recovery thresholds for uninsured motorists (HB434), a measure that would overturn the Housley presumption (HB450), a pre‑suit notice requirement when plaintiffs retain counsel (HB443), a bill to let juries see evidence about the actual or reasonable medical costs (HB34), and a shift to a modified comparative‑fault standard with a 51% bar to recovery (HB431). Some measures passed with recorded roll calls; others moved on unanimous voice or no‑objection motions.

Why it matters: lawmakers, insurance agents and business owners at the hearing said Louisiana’s auto and commercial‑auto insurance markets are strained and that litigation practice and medical billing are major cost drivers. Supporters argued the package will reduce frivolous suits and “phantom” damages — billed medical amounts that do not reflect amounts actually paid or owed — and therefore reduce premium pressure. Opponents cautioned that changes could limit remedies for seriously injured plaintiffs and urged a more balanced, collaborative drafting process.

Key provisions and outcomes

- HB291 (Representative Gallet) — cleanup tied to last session’s change in prescription periods for wrongful‑death actions, maintaining a two‑year prescriptive period for certain causes of action. Committee: sent to the floor by unanimous/no‑objection motion (no roll‑call vote recorded in committee). Representative Gallet opened the committee and described the measure as a “cleanup bill.”

- HB434 (Representative DeWitt) — raises the minimum recovery thresholds for uninsured motorists: bodily‑injury recovery from $15,000 to $100,000 and property‑damage recovery from $25,000 to $100,000; also includes a provision that plaintiffs awarded $100,000 or less would be liable for court costs. The committee adopted technical amendments and, on a roll‑call, reported the bill to the floor (11 yays, 2 nays). Representative DeWitt and a large group of insurer and trade groups filed supporting testimony; one card in opposition was recorded.

- HB450 (Representative Mellerin) — would overturn the Housley presumption that can favor plaintiffs absent evidence of a preexisting condition. Representative Mellerin said the bill “undoes that presumption and make[s] it so that you have to prove every aspect of your allegation.” The committee sent HB450 to the floor by no‑objection motion.

- HB443 (Representative Henry) — would require that plaintiffs’ counsel send written notice to the defendant within 10 business days of retention and originally included an insurer‑notification requirement; an amendment removed the insurer notification. The bill requires the notice to include basic items such as plaintiff and attorney names, accident location and nature of injuries; delivery was described in committee as by certified electronic mail. The committee adopted an amendment (11 68) removing the provision that…