Letters

Trial lawyer Ralph Cook criticized the findings of our tort study "Jackpot Justice" by attacking another study we relied on for portions of the data ("Inflated figure undercuts premise," June 18).

Cook stated that a Tillinghast-Towers Perrin report contains "a long list of costs not at all associated with the civil justice system." We disagree. The report includes costs such as fender-benders and insurance CEO salaries, as Cook mentioned, because it is a comprehensive accounting of direct tort costs. Fender-benders are torts, and the tort-related portion of CEO salaries is an overhead cost of making tort-damage payments.

The Tillinghast study is the industry standard for measuring direct U.S. tort costs and is the most frequently cited source for this information. The data come primarily from A.M. Best, which compiles composite financial data for the U.S. insurance industry. These data are considered the gold standard because they are subject to audit and are reviewed by state insurance regulatory agencies.

Cook misstated the truth by saying that Insurance Journal said the Tillinghast study has "nothing to do with the costs of litigation, courts or the legal system" and is "wrong, misleading and highly unreliable." A simple check of the primary source revealed that these statements actually came from opponents of the Tillinghast study quoted by Insurance Journal in its news story. These were not the opinions of the publication itself.

The Tillinghast study and "Jackpot Justice" are solid scholarly reports that accurately measure the costs of the U.S. tort system.

Lawrence J. McQuillan
Hovannes Abramyan
Pacific Research Institute
San Francisco, Calif.