In a prior article in this journal, we estimated the effect of an “O'Connell” early settlement offer program on payouts in medical malpractice litigation. Using Texas data and a base set of assumptions, we predicted that early offers would result in a 16% (20%) decline in payouts in...

Using claim-level data, we estimate the effect of Texas's 2003 cap on non-economic damages on jury verdicts, post-verdict payouts, and settlements in medical malpractice cases closed during 1988-2004. For pro-plaintiff jury verdicts, the cap affects 47 percent of verdicts, and reduces mean...

In prior research, we found that policy limits in Texas medical malpractice (“med mal”) cases often served as de facto caps on recoveries in both tried and settled cases. We also found that physicians faced little personal exposure on malpractice claims. Out-of-pocket payments (OOPPs) by...

Full article is at: "http://ssrn.com/abstract=2161362" http://ssrn.com/abstract=2161362This online appendix contains additional results for Zabinski and Black (2020), The Deterrent Effect of Tort Law: Evidence from Medical Malpractice Reform

Little is known about the economics of plaintiff-side law firms, which typically work on a contingency fee basis. We begin here to fill that gap. We report on the fees received by 124 plaintiff-side personal injury firms located in four states (Illinois, Texas, and two additional undisclosed...

We study the factors that predict medical malpractice ("med mal") insurance premia, using national data from Medical Liability Monitor over 1990 to 2017. A number of core findings are not easily explained by standard economic theory. First, we estimate long run elasticities of premia to...

All insurance has coverage limits, and insurers usually control whether a case is settled or tried. If the insurer rejects a within-limits settlement offer, the insured bears the risk of an above-limits verdict. In response, virtually every state has imposed a ldquo;duty to settlerdquo; on...

According to tort law theory, medical malpractice liability may deter negligence by healthcare providers. However, advocates of malpractice reform often argue that most malpractice claims are unrelated to provider performance. We study the connection between hospital adverse events and...

This online appendix contains additional results for Black, Wagner, and Zabnski (2016), The Association between Patient Safety Indicators and Medical Malpractice Risk: Evidence from Florida and Texas. The underlying article is available from SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2470370

Background. This study is the first to quantify physicians' malpractice insurance limits. It also examines the connection between policy size and payments on claims, including the frequency of settlement at the policy limits and the frequency of out-of-pocket payments. Methods. Statistical...