NFIB member John Sambdman writes in today’s edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that frivolous lawsuits continue to hurt Georgia’s small businesses.

Sambdman, CEO of Samson Tours in Atlanta and a member of the NFIB Georgia Leadership Council, recounted how his company was sued after a mother and child were struck by another driver at a school bus stop:

In 2018, one of my company’s school buses was fully stopped with lights flashing, loading students along a DeKalb County road, as it did every school day, like at thousands of other school bus stops across the country.

Our driver neither did anything different nor anything wrong, but heartbreaking tragedy struck. A mom and her 8-year-old daughter, running through a crosswalk, were struck by a car. The mother survived terrible injuries, but, sadly, the girl died shortly after the accident.

Law enforcement on the scene had no doubt who was at fault: the driver of the car that struck the victims. She served significant time in jail for the offense.

But the person at fault was of little interest to the plaintiff’s attorney because the person at fault was poorly insured. A bus company like mine is required to possess robust coverage. So, a year after the tragedy, my company was sued because it was the nearest deep pocket and a prime target for aggressive lawyers.

No rational person could argue our driver acted negligently. To argue my driver was at fault is to argue that any school bus driver picking up kids is acting recklessly. It’s absurd. Unfortunately, absurdities are allowed in Georgia courts.

Yet, because my insurance company feared the runaway jury verdicts that have become too common in Georgia, it settled with the plaintiff for $5 million — the maximum allowed under my policy — though the plaintiff’s attorney had floated obscene numbers up to $40 million.

Sambdman applauded Gov. Brian Kemp for supporting legislation to stop lawsuit abuse.

“Gov. Brian Kemp is offering reforms that will restore balance to our broken system, and I highly encourage our legislators to pass legislation that will bring relief,” Sambdman wrote.

“No business is seeking immunity when someone is harmed because of negligence. Someone who is wronged should have access to justice. But Georgia must rein in predatory lawsuits that target businesses simply for their proximity to an accident or crime.”

Read the full column here.