Physicians typically carry virtually complete malpractice insurance coverage. This contradicts standard theoretical predictions that under a negligence rule of liability there should be no demand for insurance, and insurance policies under moral hazard will contain co-payment provisions. It is argued that judicial 'errors' in defining negligence generate a demand for liability and legal defense...

This article focuses on a specific aspect of liability insurance that arises out of the latent nature of certain insured events. In particular, it is concerned with the fact that in the interval between the original tort and the claim for damages the standard of care applied by the courts may change. This is the problem of retroactive liability. The article begins by briefly reviewing the legal...

in the case of abuse of right  of  freedom of trade, intentional fault or negligence, resort  to unlawful means and act contrary to professional ethics and in general, fulfillment of conditions of compensation of loss according to governing rules in legal systems, commercial rivals have tortious liability within the framework of traditional principles of tort law. nowadays, day by day, cases of...

mental disabled, according to the individual tort system is consider being liable if causes damage to another person. this rule seems not to be fair. in this article two solutions are proposed: first, fault presumption obtained by extensive interpretation of article seven of tort act and second authority conferred to judges by article 7 of the same act. but the just and final solution is the cr...

This Essay exposes and analyzes a hitherto overlooked cost of tort law: its adverse effect on innovation. Tort liability for negligence, defective products, and medical malpractice is determined by reference to custom. We demonstrate that courts' reliance on custom and conventional technologies as the benchmark of liability chills innovation and distorts its path. Specifically, recourse to cust...

The system of tort liability for medical malpractice is frequently criticized for poorly performing its theoretical functions of compensating injured patients, deterring negligence, and dispensing corrective justice. Working from an actual malpractice case involving serious injury but no apparent negligence, the authors explore these criticisms from the perspectives of both the plaintiff-patien...

Product liability is one of the fastest growing and most economically significant applications of tort law. Product liability actions against pharmaceutical companies are among the most widely publicized classes of suits in the United States and Europe, prompting pharmaceutical companies to lobby vigorously for tort reform. (Nace et al., 1997). The liability burden on pharmaceutical companies h...

There is a large empirical literature examining the relationship between medical liability reform and the supply of physician services. Despite the general consensus that malpractice reform leads to an increase in physician supply, usually targeted amongst a subset of physicians, debates rage at the state level over the effectiveness of any given reform. This paper reviews the evidence on the r...

We examine the characteristics and limitations of the existing system of tort liability for addressing potential environmental damages from GM crops and consider whether environmental bonding could be used to address these risks. We find that in the case of GM crops, a bonding mechanism would complement some of the strengths of tort liability. Specifically, the bonding mechanism provides some p...