Economic Impact Report Analyzes Excessive Tort Costs on State Economies

West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse is releasing an economic impact study today, which is an assessment of excessive tort costs in West Virginia and potential economic benefits of reform. The study was conducted by the Perryman group and shows that because of excessive tort costs, West Virginia sees the following costs: * $290.1 million in annual direct costs * $370.0 million in annual output (gross product) * 3,843 jobs, when dynamic effects are considered * $18.6 million in annual State revenues * $16.1 million in annual local government revenues “While West Virginia has passed many legal reforms in the last few years, there is obviously still a lot of work that needs to be done,” said Greg Thomas, spokesperson for West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. As noted in the report, “West Virginia is still the only state in the country without an automatic right of appeal, has the most liberal medical monitoring provisions, and has yet to act on seat-belt admissibility.” Thomas concluded by saying, “This report, along with the circus at the State Supreme Court, shows that West Virginians continue to lose out on economic opportunities because of our broken legal system. WV CALA will continue to highlight lawsuit abuse across the state and push for a State Supreme Court that puts procedure ahead of politics.” You can download the report in it’s entirety by clicking here.