Data Watch: Tort-uring the Data

Abstract

This article discusses data available for researchers interested in the U.S. civil justice system and illustrates the uses of the various datasets with some interesting findings. Our focus is on torts, defined as an injury to person or property that is not covered by contract and for which civil liability may be imposed. The most common tort is the result of an auto accident. We discuss data useful for analyzing trends, data that are useful for cross-sectional research and finally data covering only a specific type of civil litigation such as medical malpractice. We conclude by discussing the limitations of all civil litigation data.

Media Influence on Courts: Evidence from Civil Case Adjudication

“…It is because a high-quality, large data set for civil cases is difficult to acquire. (See Helland, Klick, and Tabarrok (2005) for the limitations of various data sets for civil cases.) In the absence of easily accessible, high-quality data sets, even experts can evaluate the probability of uncertain events based on the ease of finding relevant examples, as discussed in Tversky and Kahneman (1973).…”

Unintended Consequences of Products Liability: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Market

“…Health Aff (Millwood) Suppl Web Exclusives: W5-240-W245-249, Helland, E., J. Klick, et al (2005). "Data watch: Tort-uring the data."…”

Accounting for Anticipation Effects: An Application to Medical Malpractice Tort Reform

“…where we allow the discount factors θ j to vary arbitrarily over time. The consumer can spend her time-t assets A t on either consumption c t or health care y t : See Born, Viscusi, and Baker (2006), Currie and MacLeod (2008), Helland, Klick, and Tabarrok (2005), Kessler, Sage, and Becker (2005), Klick and Stratmann (2007), Matsa (2007), and Economist (2005). 29 We do not contend that economic theory implies tort liability must reduce physician supply.…”