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Blood Money, New Money, and the Moral Economy of Tort Law in Action

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  • Tom Baker

    (University of Connecticut)

Abstract

This manuscript reports the results of a qualitative study of personal injury lawyers in Connecticut. Building on the results of an earlier study of lawyers in Florida (Transforming Punishment Into Compensation: In the Shadow of Punitive Damages, 1998 WIS. L. REV. 211), the study describes and explores the implications of professional norms and practices that govern tort settlement behavior. In particular, the study explores the moral and practical barriers to collecting "blood money" (money from individual defendants, as opposed to liability insurance companies), as well as explanations for victims' apparent ability to partially trump the claims of subrogating workers compensation and health insurance carriers. The results pose a challenge to the conventional understanding that tort law in action is a simpler, more streamlined version of tort law on the books. In addition, the results suggest that compensation and retribution figures far more prominently in tort law in action than the deterrence emphasized in much of the theoretical and doctrinal literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Baker, "undated". "Blood Money, New Money, and the Moral Economy of Tort Law in Action," University of Connecticut School of Law Working Papers uconn_ucwps-1005, University of Connecticut School of Law.
    • Handle: RePEc:bep:conlaw:uconn_ucwps-1005
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    File URL: http://lsr.nellco.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=uconn/ucwps
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    Cited by:

    1. Klick, Jonathan & MacDonald, John, 2020. "Deterrence and liability for intentional torts," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    2. Yun‐chien Chang & Theodore Eisenberg & Han‐Wei Ho & Martin T. Wells, 2015. "Pain and Suffering Damages in Wrongful Death Cases: An Empirical Study," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(1), pages 128-160, March.
    3. Ronen Avraham, 2007. "An Empirical Study of the Impact of Tort Reforms on Medical Malpractice Settlement Payments," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S2), pages 183-229, June.
    4. Jonathan Klick & Thomas Stratmann, 2007. "Medical Malpractice Reform and Physicians in High-Risk Specialties," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S2), pages 121-142, June.
    5. David A. Hyman & Bernard Black & Charles Silver, 2011. "Settlement at Policy Limits and the Duty to Settle: Evidence from Texas," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 48-84, March.
    6. Kathryn Zeiler & Charles Silver & Bernard Black & David A. Hyman & William M. Sage, 2007. "Physicians' Insurance Limits and Malpractice Payments: Evidence from Texas Closed Claims, 1990-2003," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S2), pages 9-45, June.
    7. David A. Hyman & Bernard Black & Kathryn Zeiler & Charles Silver & William M. Sage, 2007. "Do Defendants Pay What Juries Award? Post‐Verdict Haircuts in Texas Medical Malpractice Cases, 1988–2003," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 4(1), pages 3-68, March.

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