Georgia Laws on Ride-Share Insurance, Hospital Assaults Kick In July 1

Two Georgia laws take effect Saturday, July 1, that affect insurance for ride-share operators and, potentially, workers’ compensation claims from hospital workers.

House Bill 529 lowers the minimum amount of uninsured and underinsured motorists’ coverage that ride-share companies must maintain. The previous law required at least $1 million in coverage. The new statute mandates a minimum of $300,000 for bodily injury or death of all persons in an accident. It also requires a maximum of $100,000 for death or injury to one person, and $25,000 for damage in an accident.

House Bill 383, known as the Safer Hospitals Act, increases the penalties for assaults against health care workers on the job. Anyone convicted of an assault could face three to 20 years in prison, reads the law. The act is similar to one approved by Florida lawmakers this year, but the Georgia law carries much stiffer penalties.

The Georgia measure also allows hospitals to establish their own police force, known as “peace officers.”

Assaults and threats against health workers have been on the rise in recent years, as have injuries to the victim workers. The rate of violent attacks against medical professionals jumped by 63% from 2011 to 2018, and health care workers account for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries from violence, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported.

Nurses and nursing assistants account for the largest share of workers’ compensation claims in the United States, almost 15% of all claims, according to information compiled by Intuit.

And the number of attacks may be underreported, at least one study suggests.

In Jacksonville, Florida, just over the Georgia line, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration this month fined a behavioral hospital for what the agency called “shocking” amounts of violence against nurses and other workers.

Topics Georgia