New Yorkers pay a high price for liability litigation
side note: This is an interesting article, mainly due to the fact that it is discussing tort within the framework of New York, which has a well-documented debacle of a medical malpractice insurance environment.
High taxes help make New York an expensive place to do business. A new report argues convincingly that costly malpractice litigation and insurance also kill jobs and drive away business.
The report from the conservative Pacific Research Institute notes that from an economic perspective, New York state ranks near the bottom in its liability laws. Liability defense costs have risen 485 percent since 1977, adjusted for inflation. Jury awards generally are 600 percent above the national norm and include 10 of the nation’s top payouts in 2006. “Defensive medicine” — physicians’ over-reliance on tests and medications as a hedge against litigation — add up to 9 percent to medical bills, PRI claims.
