Tort Costs Decline 5. 5% Is 2006

Towers Perrin Tillinghast is an insurance consulting firm whose annual Update on U.S. Tort Cost Trends has been a highly controversial source of data for tort reform advocates.  Crtiics have long accused Towers Perrin of bias as a shill for the insurance industry providing biased, contorted numbers to support an advocacy position. 

Now the company has released its 2007 Update on U.S. Tort Costs Trends, which is available here.  “Tort costs” are defined as:  1. benefits paid or expected to be paid to third parties, 2. defense costs, and 3.is  administrative expenses.  Tort costs in 2006 declined by 5.5% from the previous year.  Personal tort costs declined 1.3% while commercial tort costs declined 7.7%, comprising a total of 1.87% of Gross Domestic Product. 

While there are undoubtedly those who resent any portion of GDP going to a system designed compensate those who are injured  by the carelessness of others, my hunch is that most folks wouldn’t think 1.87% of GDP is excessive for this purpose. It beats imposing all the economic and human impact of negligence onto the victims.

The Shigley Law Firm  represents plaintiffs in wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases statewide in Georgia, and in other states subject to the multijurisdictional practice and pro hac vice rules in each state. Ken Shigley was designated as a “SuperLawyer” in Atlanta Magazine and one of the “Legal Elite” in Georgia Trend Magazine. He is a Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute and former chair of the Georgia Insurance Law Institute. He particularly focuses on cases arising from truck wrecks and accidents (tractor trailers truck wrecks, semi truck wrecks,18 wheeler truck wrecks, big rig truck wrecks, log truck wrecks, and dump truck wrecks.