- State attorneys general and contingent-fee lawyers: West Virginia high court says OK [WV Record] Similar Nevada challenge [Daniel Fisher]
- Driver of bus that fatally crushed pedestrian fails to convince court on can’t-bear-to-look-at-evidence theory [David Applegate, Heartland Lawsuit Abuse Fortnightly]
- UK uncovers biggest car crash scam ring, detectives say County Durham motorists were paying up to £100 extra on insurance [BBC, Guardian, Telegraph]
- “A Litigator Reviews John Grisham’s The Litigators” [Max Kennerly]
- Quin Hillyer, who’s written extensively on litigation abuse, is putting journalism on hold and running for Congress from Mobile, Ala. [American Spectator]
- Not clear how man and 5-year-old son drowned in pool — he’d been hired for landscaping — but homeowner being sued [Florence, Ala.; WAFF]
- “U.S. Legal System Ranked as Most Costly” [Shannon Green, Corp Counsel] “International comparisons of litigation costs: Europe, U.S. and Canada” [US Chamber]
Filed under: Alabama, attorneys general, contingent fee, crash faking, Nevada, pools, transit, U.S. House of Representatives, United Kingdom, West Virginia
One Comment
>?“U.S. Legal System Ranked as Most Costly” [Shannon Green, Corp Counsel
[Which links to}
>>The NERA study compared liability costs as a percentage of a country’s gross domestic product. The 13 countries included in the study have similar levels of regulation and legal protection, leading analysts to conclude that higher costs could be attributed to more frequent and/or costly claims.
[end of quotes]
I have been receptive to many tort-reform arguments. Nevertheless, a major difference between the US and European economies in this study is the US lack of universal health insurance. Americans facing ruinous medical costs have grown accustomed to using the tort system as a (capricious and wasteful) substitute for health insurance. Obama’s proposal has various defects, notably a lack of ability or incentive for consumers to demand lower costs, but the Republicans have offered nothing in its place.