A bill is out of the Iowa Senate that would put limits on how much non-economic damages someone can sue if a trucker crashes into them, causing injuries or death.

Senate File 228 allows for a maximum of $2 million for pain and suffering if there is a collision with trucks and other large commercial vehicles. District 24 Senator Jesse Green (R-Boone) says this legislation happened because of an issue he and other lawmakers were seeing.

“What we’ve been seeing is that a lot of trial attorneys have been going after the non-economic damages because those (were) the one that was more lucrative for their interest.” 

Green points out this bill doesn’t have a maximum for economic nor punitive damages, but it does make an additional change so that 100-percent of the punitive damages goes to the plaintiff, whereas before, some of those payments went to the state. He talks about another key aspect in this bill.

“The one thing that people need to remember with this trucker tort reform is that if alcohol or drugs is involved in anyway (in) gross negligence, those individuals or drivers are not protected by this.”  

Those who oppose the bill say larger companies would be protected from damages if this bill were to pass. The bill is now in the House. Click the link below to see the full Senate bill.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=90&ba=SF228