Tort Laws that Save Americans the Most Money

May 26, 2009 13:28

Tort Laws that Save Americans the Most Money
Source: Pacific Research Institute

The Pacific Research Institute (PRI), a free-market think tank based in California, today released Tort Law Tally, a new report identifying which state tort reforms reduce tort losses and tort insurance premiums the most.

The analysis identifies 18 reforms to state civil-justice systems that significantly reduce tort losses and/or tort insurance premiums. The cumulative effect of reforms across all tort categories is a 47-percent reduction in losses and a 16-percent reduction in insurance premiums for consumers. “Our study helps state legislators and legal reformers identify which tort reforms produce the biggest bang for the buck,” said Lawrence J. McQuillan, PhD, project director and PRI director of Business and Economic Studies.

When tort reforms are ordered according to each reform’s ability to reduce aggregate tort losses, the top eight reforms are:

1. attorney-retention sunshine (12-percent reduction)
2. Daubert rule (10 percent)
3. frivolous lawsuits (7 percent)
4. jury service (6 percent)
5. appeal-bond caps (4 percent)
6. negligence standard (3 percent)
7. non-economic-damage caps (2 percent)
8. medical-malpractice damage caps (1 percent)

+ Full Report (PDF; 555 KB)

Category:

• Business and economics
• Legal and law enforcement

Source:

• Pacific Research Institute

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