Legislation is circulating for introduction in Wisconsin that would cap the recovery of noneconomic damages from trucking companies and commercial drivers. Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) and Reps. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) and Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger) authored the proposal. The aim of the bill is to protect employers from unreasonable “nuclear verdicts” and stabilize insurance costs for the trucking industry.

According to the official analysis, “This bill limits the total amount of noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, that a person may recover from a commercial motor vehicle carrier for injury, death, or other loss resulting from an act or omission by an employee of the commercial motor vehicle carrier while acting within the scope of employment to $1,000,000.”

In tort law, “noneconomic damages” include intangible costs such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, or loss of consortium. “Economic damages” include quantifiable costs such as medical bills, property damage, or lost wages and earning capacity. The function of a limit on noneconomic damages is not to deprive plaintiffs of a fair judgement or settlement, but rather to protect employers from unreasonable nuclear verdicts and stabilize insurance costs for vital industries like medicine and logistics.

A memo issued by the bill’s authors notes that “a nuclear verdict is generally an exceptionally high jury award that surpasses what should be a reasonable or rational amount. While trucking companies work diligently to operate safely on our roads, aggressive litigation and inflated settlements risk driving up insurance rates, redirect resources away from improving a business’ workforce, and can prolong the purchase of new equipment. The rise in nuclear lawsuits ultimately exacerbates current supply chain issues, which leads to a weakened economy. … We believe this legislation strikes an ideal balance between those who file lawsuits and the trucking industry.”

Earlier this year, Iowa became the first state in the country to limit noneconomic damages against trucking companies and commercial drivers. Senate File 228 was signed into law on May 12 by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R). The law sets a $5 million limit on the noneconomic damages that can be recovered in court by a victim of an accident involving a trucking company. Economic damages remain uncapped in Iowa, as they would in Wisconsin under the above proposal.