House bill to cap lawsuit awards for general damages fails after debate

Published: April 9, 2026

By: Avery White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A bill that would have placed a cap on general damages in civil lawsuits was blocked 5-4 by a House committee on Tuesday after vigorous debate.

House Bill 526, authored by Rep. Kellee Hennessy Dickerson, R-Denham Springs, sought to place a $500,000 cap on civil damages, which did not include property damage, lost wages, tangible losses or medical bills. The proposed bill also would not have applied in cases of severe, permanent injury.

The bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates by lowering the frequency of what Dickerson called “nuclear verdicts” that can produce millions of dollars in damage awards. If insurance companies no longer had to make huge damage awards, Dickerson said, those reduced costs would lower insurance premiums.

“In Louisiana, the same case can produce very different results, depending on where it is tried,” Dickerson said. “That unpredictability drives up settlements, increases litigation cost and forces insurers to price for worst-case scenarios. And, folks, guess what? Those costs fall on families, small businesses, on everyday policyholders.”

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