good god, where do folks go to get information when these kind of stuff in the major newspapers!!
http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200501100008 Wash. Post columnist relied on dubious study to promote tort reform
In a January 10 column arguing that "
he tort system is an abomination," Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby relied on data from a highly questionable study paid for by tort reform advocates. He also made a dubious comparison between the "tort system" and Medicare, made vague reference to other unidentified "studies," and falsely equated "pain and suffering" with "emotional distress."
In arguing that the "tort system" costs too much and that the money goes to the wrong people, Mallaby wrote:
The most complete study of the tort system's cost comes from the consulting firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. Tillinghast's clients are mainly insurers, which are at loggerheads with the trial bar, so you may mistrust its data. Nonetheless, Tillinghast has published seven updates to its original 1985 study, refining its methodology along the way. Its numbers are the best available. And they are stunning.
In 2003, according to Tillinghast, the tort system cost $246 billion -- meaning that the average American paid $845 for it via more expensive goods and services. But the really shocking thing is where the billions went. Injured plaintiffs -- the fabled little guys for whom the system is supposedly designed -- got less than half the money.
According to Tillinghast's 2002 data, plaintiffs' lawyers swallowed 19 percent of the $233 billion. Defense lawyers pocketed an additional 14 percent, and other administrative costs, mainly at insurance firms, accounted for a further 21 percent. The legal-administrative complex thus guzzled fully 54 percent of the money in the tort system, or $126 billion. ......
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