I disagree there is any need for a cap on non-economic damages - at least not in Arkansas. There may be such a need in Texas but in my experience Arkansas juries are quite capable of setting reasonable damages. "Excessive jury awards" are few and far between in Arkansas. A damages cap is a determination - as a matter of law - that everyday people serving on juries are simply too stupid to set damages.
On the rare occasions in Arkansas that a jury awards an excessive verdict, it is subject to remittitur in which the judge puts the plaintiff to an election of either accepting a reduced amount set by the judge or there being a new trial. If, for some reason, a trial judge does not correct the rare excessive verdict, the case can be appealed.
You are correct that the lie that "tort reform" decreases insurance premium is just that - a lie. The lie is not told by insurance companies. Issue 1 was primarily being pushed by the nursing home industry who want to be able to allow old people die as a result of inadequate staffing without consequences and the trucking industry - that is big in Arkansas - who want to be able to have sleeping drivers kill people on the Interstate highways.
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