"A Look at the Inefficiencies of the U.S. Tort System and Reforms to Co" by Ryan Koopmans

Article Title

A Look at the Inefficiencies of the U.S. Tort System and Reforms to Correct Them

Authors

Ryan Koopmans, University of Northern Iowa

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The two goals of tort law are to compensate victims and to deter unsafe behavior. This paper judges whether changes are needed in the current system by looking at how well it meets these goals. The current system is inefficient and ineffective. Three reforms are analyzed and suggested: contingency-fee reform, the elimination of punitive damages for corporations and large business, and the creation of a no-fault system of compensation for the worst areas of tort law. By enacting these reforms billions of dollars could be saved, while leaving the goals of tort law intact.

Publication Date

Spring 2004

Journal Title

Major Themes in Economics

Volume

Issue

First Page

Last Page

Copyright

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Language

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Koopmans, Ryan (2004) "A Look at the Inefficiencies of the U.S. Tort System and Reforms to Correct Them," Major Themes in Economics, 6, 49-60.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/mtie/vol6/iss1/6