page_title: Eric Greitens
section_title: Tort reform
hierarchical_section_title: Eric Greitens / Governor of Missouri / First year / Tort reform
caption_attribution_description: English: Governor Greitens speaks to Fox 4 News at the 2017 MLB Opening Day of the Kansas City Royals in August 2017.
context_page_description: Eric Robert Greitens is an American politician, author, and former Navy SEAL who was the 56th governor of Missouri from January 2017 until his resignation in June 2018.
  Born and raised in St. Louis, Greitens received a doctorate from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, as a Rhodes scholar. During his four tours of duty as a U.S. Navy SEAL officer, he rose to the rank of lieutenant commander, commanded a unit targeting Al-Qaeda, and was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Later, after being a White House Fellow, Greitens founded a nonprofit organization, The Mission Continues, to benefit veterans. In 2013, Time included him in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
  After having been a Democrat during his early life, Greitens announced in 2015 that he had become a Republican. He ran for governor of Missouri as a Republican in 2016. Greitens prevailed over three opponents in the Republican primaries and then defeated Democratic state Attorney General Chris Koster in the general election. One of Greitens's signature accomplishments in office was signing Missouri's right-to-work law, which was later repealed by statewide referendum.
context_section_description: In 2017 Harris Insights & Analytics surveyed 1,300 corporate litigators and senior executives for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform. Missouri's overall state liability system ranked 49th out of 50. As part of his "More Jobs, Higher Pay" plan, Greitens pushed for more tort reform than any state in the country. In 2017 the American Tort Reform Association criticized St. Louis as the "worst Judicial Hellhole™" in the country, and said "judicial hellholes" like St. Louis are known for systematically misapplying the law in ways that expand liability and ratchet up the cost of doing business in the state. Greitens signed legislation that the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America said would help improve Missouri's legal climate by curbing abuses associated with §537.065 and the time-limited demand settlement process.
  Other tort reform bills Greitens signed include:
  Missouri SB31, which makes changes to the collateral source rule (paid v. billed damages) so parties can introduce only evidence of the actual cost of the medical care rendered, not the value of that care.
  Missouri SB43, which brings standards for lawsuits in Missouri in line with 38 other states and the federal government. The bill requires the use of the "motivating factor" standard for employment discrimination cases. The "motivating factor" standard is used by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in analyzing claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  Missouri SB 88, which gives veterinarians the same malpractice coverage as doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals.
  Missouri HB 452, which says that, with certain exceptions, no healthcare provider shall be liable for the negligence of another entity or person who is not an employee of the healthcare provider.
  Missouri HB153, which creates a higher standard for expert evidence, improves the reliability of expert witness testimony, and puts Missouri in line with a majority of states regarding the standard used for expert testimony.
caption: Greitens speaking to Fox 4 News at the 2017 MLB Opening Day for the Kansas City Royals in August 2017.
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