Research on the Civil Justice System

U.S. Department of Justice: Federal Tort Filings Down

August 17— A report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that tort cases in federal courts have dropped dramatically over the last 20 years, by almost 80%. Read more.

New Study Exposes “Tort Tax” as Fabrication of Insurance Industry

May 17— Economists at the Economic Policy Institute found that opponents of the U.S. tort liability system have no evidence that the tort system can be blamed for economic problems. On the contrary, the tort system has actually been beneficial to corporate profits, product quality, productivity, and spending on research and development. Read more.

Hidden Victims of Tort Reform: Women, Children, and the Elderly

February 4— A study examining how juries in several states allocate their damage awards between economic and non-economic damages found that caps on non-economic damages "benefit insurance companies by increasing their profits, while producing no benefit for doctors, and causing a detriment to injured people, especially women and the elderly." Read more.

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