Minnesota has a reputation as a state that’s friendly to litigators, and a new survey by the Pacific Research Institute seems to bolster that image.
The conservative think tank recently released its U.S. Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report, a ranking of each state based on its tort laws and tort costs. The index ranked Minnesota as a “sinner” -- meaning the state has “relatively high monetary tort losses and/or high litigation risks and relatively weak tort rules on the books…[and] are likely to face high and rising tort liability costs in the future if lawsuit abuse continues unchecked.”
Minnesota ranked 17th among states for the highest risk of litigation, and 4th for incoming monetary awards. According to PRI, that makes Minnesota a “judicial hell-hole.”
While Minnesota’s legal community would surely rather be seen as saints, at least they aren’t perceived by PRI as “suckers” -- a state with weak tort rules “because they currently have relatively low monetary tort losses and/or few litigation risks and, therefore, foolishly believe that they are not vulnerable and reform is not needed.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
By "tort losses" did you mean to say "compensation to victims?" If being a "sinner" involves obtaining justice for victims, then I'm OK with that. Wow, it seems pretty creepy to me to be putting a religious spin on the so-called "tort reform". When I think of tort reform I envision some of the safety improvements many Minnesota companies have decided to implement in their workplaces and products. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right?
Post a Comment