Our Liability Predicament: The Practical and Psychological Flaws of the American Tort System

Our Liability Predicament is a non-political and non-polemical discussion of our present-day liability system and its problems. It concludes that the culprit has been the gradual devolution of American tort law to the point where it actually encourages litigation, greed, and revenge, as opposed to the proclaimed aim of law as a method of settling disputes amicably, expeditiously and fairly. The book is divided into six sections; the first of which is devoted to the basic facts of tort law, how it evolved, and how it began to differ from the tort systems of other nations. The next section discusses the basic flaws and merits of the system, and concludes that the flaws considerably outweigh the merits. The third section discusses the need for basic reforms, particularly in incentives, cost, and complexity. The fourth section considers specific problems, with emphasis on automobile liability and professional malpractice. The fifth section discusses the divergent points of view regarding the tort system in the literature, as well as various proposals for reform, and the final section gives a short summary and conclusion.