Exploring the Domain of Accident Law: Taking the Facts Seriously

In the mid 1980s, there was a crisis in the availability, affordability, and adequacy of liability insurance in the United States and Canada. Mass tort claims such as the asbestos, DES, and Agent Orange litigation generated widespread public attention, and the tort system came to assume a heightened prominence in American life. While some scholars debate whether or not any such crisis still exists, there has been an increasing political, judicial and academic questioning of the goals and future of the tort system.

Exploring the Domain of Tort Law reviews the evidence on the efficacy of the tort system and its alternatives. By looking at empirical evidence in five major categories of accidents--automobile, medical malpractice, product-related accidents, environmental injuries, and workplace injuries--the authors evaluate the degree to which the tort system conforms to three normative goals: deterrence, corrective justice, and distributive justice. In each case, the authors review the deterrence and compensatory properties of the tort system, and then review parallel bodies of evidence on regulatory, penal, and compensatory alternatives.

Most of the academic literature on the tort system has traditionally been doctrinal or, in recent years, highly theoretical. Very little of this literature provides an in-depth consideration of how the system works, and whether or not there are any feasible alternatives. Exploring the Domain of Tort Law contributes valuable new evidence to the tort law reform debate. It will be of interest to academic lawyers and economists, policy analysts, policy professionals in government and research organizations, and all those affected by tort law reform.

Donald Dewees is Professor of Economics and Law, and Vice-Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto. His teaching and research are in the areas of environmental economics, environmental law, and law and economics generally. His research has investigated economic issues related to environmental pollution policies.

David Duff is a lawyer with the Toronto law firm of Stikeman, Elliott. He has published articles dealing with personal injuries, family law, and taxation, and is interested in the theory and practice of distributive justice.

Michael J. Trebilcock is Professor of Law and Director of the Law and Economics Program at the University of Toronto. He has published widely in the areas of corporate and commercial law, contract law, tort law, international trade law, anti-trust law, and government regulation.