"Lawsuit crisis"- the numbers do not add up.

A debate rages in the country today: Is there a “lawsuit crisis” and, if so, what does it cost? Those who claim that there is a crisis often cite a report from consulting firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin (TTP) claiming that lawsuits cost the country $246 billion a year. The problem with this “fact” is that the numbers just don’t add up. A group of respected economists hired by a nonpartisan think tank found that the conclusion from the TTP report was “one-sided” and “misleading.” Their study shows that the actual “costs” of lawsuits are less than one-third of the amount claimed. The TTP numbers were inflated by including things such as the insurance industry’s administrative expenses (which would be paid even if no lawsuits were filed) and payments on insurance claims. The economists fault TTP for using data that cannot be verified, because the authors claim their calculations are secret. These economists reject the claim that all Americans pay a “tort tax” as “indefensible.” Insurers, big business, and others use false numbers to demonize lawyers and to convince the public that a lawsuit seeking just compensation for injuries caused by someone else is wrong. Don’t be fooled.


Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C.
www.mayerson.com

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