Should taxpayers be liable for the misdeeds of government employees?

Should a $300,000 ceiling in awards for such misdeeds be raised for their victims?

Lawsuit awards against state agencies and local government are limited by a 20-year-old law to:

• $300,000 a victim.

• $600,000 a group.

Now state lawmakers may raise the caps to compensate injured victims and the families of those killed by government employees, The State newspaper reported.

A bill would more than triple the cap to $1 million for a single victim or $2 million for a group of victims.

Other senators are concerned this will lift insurance premiums for government agencies and lead to tax increases or less services.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who represents Lexington County voters, agrees the cap is too low, The State reported, but wants it limited to $500,000 a victim and $1 million a group. That’s half the bill’s goal, with no inflationary raises.

The debate pits taxpayers vs. victims, splits senators along party lines and divides senator-lawyers paid to sue the government to defend agencies in court.

Until 1986, South Carolina had been immune to civil lawsuits. The Tort Claims Act set legal limits.

Exceptions for civil rights cases include a $6.5 million settlement with the family of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man slain by a white police officer in 2015.

Lawyers argue they can’t win awards to cover victims’ rising medical bills or aid families suffering losses.

In 10 years, the state Insurance Reserve Fund paid $200,000 to 200 victims and $400,000 to 72 groups.

Last year the fund paid more than $66.7 million in claims and nearly $24 million in legal fees.

Bill supporters say limiting the legal liability limits an agency’s incentive to avoid negligence.

Many lawyers won’t sue the government because the awards don’t justify their time and effort.

New Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a trial lawyer who represents Irmo area voters, doubts insurance premiums will soar if the cap rises.

Instead, the Insurance Reserve Fund should quit charging a flat rate to the agencies it covers, he said.

The agency should have lower rates for agencies with good safety records.