Back to Search Start Over

Data Watch: Tort-uring the Data.

Authors :
Helland, Eric
Klick, Jonathan
Tabarrok, Alexander
Source :
Journal of Economic Perspectives; Spring2005, Vol. 19 Issue 2, p207-220, 14p, 1 Chart, 3 Graphs
Publication Year :
2005

Abstract

This article discusses data available for researchers interested in the U.S. civil justice system and illustrates the uses of the various datasets with some interesting findings. One fundamental question is whether tort awards are rising. The roots of the tort crisis have traditionally been traced to the 1960s and 1970s, when tort law shifted from a standard where damages were only owed after negligence was proven to strict liability, where no proof of negligence was needed. There are three especially useful sources for cross-sectional research on tort cases: the Federal data set, Jury Verdict Research, and the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992, 1996, 2001. A limitation of the Civil Justice Survey data is that because it was constructed to examine large urban counties, it covers only 21-22 states. Most of the data sets on specific types of civil action deal with medical malpractice, although limited data are also available on auto accidents, product liability and certain other specific areas. A second useful data set on medical malpractice arose out of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986. The vast majority of the payment amounts in the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) are settlements, a great improvement over data sets that contain only trials. For example, NPDB data showed that medical malpractice payments per doctor vary widely by state, ranging from a low of $5,174 in Wisconsin to $30,841 in Pennsylvania.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
08953309
Volume :
19
Issue :
2
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
17526562
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1257/0895330054048669