Summary Table 1.
Selected Tort Reforms Enacted Since 1986
THE EFFECTS OF TORT REFORM: EVIDENCE FROM THE STATES ix
Number of States That Have Enacted Tort Reform
Type of Reform
Modify Joint-and- Several Liability
Modify the Collateral- Source Rule
Limit Noneconomic Damages
Limit Punitive Damages
38 States have based the amount for which a defendant can be held
liable on the proportion of fault attributed, but the formulas differ substantially from state to state. In addition, most of the reforms apply to specific types of torts or have other restrictions.
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
25 Typical reforms either permit evidence of collateral-source
payments to be admitted at trial, allow awards to plaintiffs to be offset by other payments, or both.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,* Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,* Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon
23 The caps range from $250,000 to $750,000. More than half of the reforms apply to torts involving medical malpractice.
Alabama,* Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,* Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire,* North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,* Texas, Washington,* West Virginia, Wisconsin
34 Various types of limits include outright bans; fixed dollar caps
ranging from $250,000 to $10 million; and caps equal to a multiple of compensatory awards.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,* Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin
Source: American Tort Reform Association, Tort Reform Record (December 31, 2003), pp. 2-3, available at
www.atra.org/files.cgi/ 7668_Record12-03.pdf.
Notes: The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) does not list reforms enacted prior to 1986, when the association was founded. Although the ATRA lists Vermont as enacting reform of joint-and-several liability since 1986, Vermont actually enacted that reform in 1985.
See Box 1 for definitions of the tort terms used in this table.
* The only relevant law enacted since 1986 was found to violate the state's constitution.
Box 1.
Definitions of Some Common Tort Terms
Collateral-source payments: Amounts that a plaintiff recovers from sources other than the defendant, such as the plaintiff ’s own insurance. Under the collateral-source rule, that compensation from other sources may not be admitted as evidence at trial.
Contingent fee: A fee charged by an attorney for his or her services only if the lawsuit is successful or is favorably settled out of court. Usually, the contingent fee is calculated as a percentage of the amount the plaintiff recovers from the defendant.
Economic damages: Funds to compensate a plaintiff for the monetary costs of an injury, such as medical bills or loss of income.
Joint-and-several liability: Liability in which each liable party is individually responsible for the entire obligation. Under joint-and-several liability, a plaintiff may choose to seek full damages from all, some, or any one of the parties alleged to have committed the injury. In most cases, a defendant who pays damages may seek reimbursement from nonpaying parties.
Malpractice: “An instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional.”
Negligence: A violation of a duty to meet an applicable standard of care.
Noneconomic damages: Damages payable for items other than monetary losses, such as pain and suffering. The term technically includes punitive damages, but those are typically discussed separately.
Punitive damages: Damages awarded in addition to compensatory (economic and noneconomic) damages to punish a defendant for willful and wanton conduct.
Statute of limitations: A statute specifying the period of time after the occurrence of an injury—or, in some cases, after the discovery of the injury or of its cause—during which any suit must be filed.
1. Bryan A. Garner, ed., Black’s Law Dictionary, 7th ed. (St. Paul, Minn.: West Group, 1999), p. 971.