Liability: The Legal Revolution and Its Consequences

Abstract

The author wastes no time in identifying the villain and hero of his book, nor does he make much effort either to soften his harsh, multifaceted criticism of the former or to qualify his effusive, allencompassing praise of the latter. Tort law, the law of accidents and personal injury, "directly costs American individuals, businesses, municipalities, and other government bodies at least $80 billion a year," claims Huber. This "tort tax is a recent invention," "a peculiarly American institution." In contrast, in the good old days, "most accidents were handled under the broad heading of contract—the realm of human cooperation." The author unabashedly states, "Freedom of choice, private or public, exercised under an umbrella of direct insurance, is the only certain path to a safer and healthier world, with more financial security for all." Huber believes that almost all of the economic problems attributable to physical and psychological human injuries, which