Damage Caps and Civil Litigation: An Empirical Study of Medical Malpractice Litigation in the South
29 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2005
There are 2 versions of this paper
Damage Caps and Civil Litigation: An Empirical Study of Medical Malpractice Litigation in the South
Damage Caps and Civil Litigation: An Empirical Study of Medical Malpractice Litigation in the South
Abstract
This article looks at the effect that damage caps have on plaintiffs' recovery in medical malpractice litigation, using a unique data set of litigation in the South from 1987 to 1999. During this time, Alabama underwent both the implementation and nullification of damage-cap laws; neighboring states did not undergo any significant legal changes. The product of a difference-in-difference approach, the results reveal that the average relative recovery by Alabama plaintiffs decreased by roughly $20,000 after the Alabama legislature enacted damage caps and increased by roughly double that amount after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional.
Keywords: Torts, Tort Reform, Law & Economics
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Tort Reform and Accidental Deaths
By Paul H. Rubin and Joanna Shepherd
-
The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses
By Patricia Born, W. Kip Viscusi, ...
-
The Effects of Tort Reform on Medical Malpractice Insurers' Ultimate Losses
By Patricia Born, W. Kip Viscusi, ...
-
Why Health Courts are Unconstitutional
By Amy Widman
-
Accidental Death and the Rule of Joint and Several Liability
By Daniel N Carvell, Janet Currie, ...
-
Administrative 'Health Courts' for Medical Injury Claims: The Federal Constitutional Issues
By E. Donald Elliott, Sanjay Narayan, ...