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Pair of Legal Reform Priorities Head to House Floor Following Committee Approval
LABI’s push to keep Louisiana’s legal reform efforts moving forward this session proved successful Monday as lawmakers in House Civil Law advanced two key civil justice measures, sending both LABI-supported bills to the full House.
HB 1089 by Rep. Dennis Bamburg (R-Bossier City) was reported with amendments on a 6-1 vote.
This LABI-crafted legislation tackles a long-standing issue in Louisiana’s civil justice system: how future medical awards are handled after a lawsuit. Today, those awards are often paid as unrestricted lump sums with no guardrails on how the money is used.
HB 1089 creates a more responsible, patient-focused approach by establishing CARE Accounts—dedicated money market accounts specifically for future medical expenses.
Under the bill:
- Future medical awards would be deposited into a CARE Account rather than paid as an unrestricted lump sum.
- The account would function similarly to a Health Savings Account, limiting spending to qualified medical expenses based on existing medical codes and standards.
- Funds would remain available throughout a claimant’s lifetime for legitimate medical needs.
The reform is designed to ensure injured individuals maintain reliable access to long-term care while reducing the risk that funds are misused or exhausted prematurely. By adding accountability and transparency, the bill helps ensure awards fulfill their intended purpose—providing care when it is actually needed.
LABI Director of Government Relations Shelby Dunbar thanked Rep. Bamburg for prioritizing the issue and emphasized the extensive stakeholder collaboration behind the legislation, including work with the Department of Insurance to develop a practical framework that safeguards future medical awards and ensures long-term access to care.
Mark Behrens, testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform, focused on the consumer protection benefits of the bill, explaining that CARE Accounts help ensure jury-awarded funds are used for medical treatment and shield recipients from outside financial pressure or misuse.
Also approved 6-1, was HB 437 by Rep. Michael Melerine (R-Shreveport). This legislation reinforces a core principle of the justice system: expert witnesses should be neutral, independent sources of specialized knowledge—not financially invested advocates.
Because expert testimony often determines whether a case moves forward or falls apart, the bill aims to strengthen confidence in the reliability and objectivity of expert evidence presented in court.
The legislation makes targeted updates to Louisiana law to ensure expert testimony admitted in court is free from outcome-based financial influence.
The measure applies equally to all parties and does not limit access to qualified experts. Instead, it ensures that financially conflicted or unreliable testimony is addressed before trial—helping protect the integrity of the judicial process.
HB 437 would prohibit outcome-based compensation for expert witnesses while continuing to allow standard payment for their time and professional expertise. The bill clearly defines “pecuniary interest” to narrowly target only outcome-based incentives, ensuring normal compensation and employment relationships are not affected. It also strengthens judicial gatekeeping by requiring judges to evaluate an expert’s reliability and neutrality before testimony reaches a jury, aligning Louisiana more closely with modern federal evidentiary standards. Finally, the measure increases transparency by requiring experts to disclose prior cases in which they held outcome-based financial interests.
Rep. Wilford Carter (D-Lake Charles) cast the lone opposing vote on both measures, while Chairman Nicky Muscarello (R-Hammond) did not vote.