CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE
Tort Liability Index
06-08-10
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
The California tort system in terms of low cost and low risks has dropped
from 34th to 41st according to a report by the San Francisco-based Pacific
Research Institute.
In its 2010 Tort Liability Index, the Pacific Research Institute identifies
that California ranks in the middle of the pack (28th) on monetary losses
from lawsuits, California also ranks 47th in risk of litigation behind New York,
New Jersey and Florida.
The report ranks states by four categories, saints, sinners, salvageable and
suckers. The report ranks California along with 19 other states in the category
of sinner states. A so-called ‘Sinner’ state has relatively high monetary tort
losses and/or high litigation risks and relatively weak tort rules on the books.
The sinners are likely to face high and rising tort liability costs in the future
if lawsuit abuse continues unchecked. But don’t go laughing about the Golden
State, it was not placed in salvageable or sucker categories even with its 41st
ranking.
The overall ranking is a combination of monetary losses and litigation risks.
Here are the costliest states:
50 New Jersey
49 New York
48 Florida
47 Illinois
46 Pennsylvania
45 Missouri
44 Montana
43 Michigan
42 Connecticut
41 California
40. Nevada
I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
To view the report go to:
http://www.pacificresearch.org/press/2010-tort-liability-index-ranks-states-tort-climate
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