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Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, Joni Hersch, W. Kip Viscusi
Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, Joni Hersch, W. Kip Viscusi
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This Article proposes that the value of statistical life ("VSL ") be used to set the total damages amount needed for deterrence when punitive damages are warranted in wrongful death cases. The appropriate level of total damages should be achieved by adjusting the value of punitive damages. Compensatory damages should not be distorted to establish the total damages level needed for efficient deterrence. Attempts to introduce hedonic damages as a compensatory damages component, and proposals to use the VSL on a routine basis when setting compensatory damages awards, are misguided and will undermine the insurance and compensation functions of compensatory …
The Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards, W. Kip Viscusi
The Blockbuster Punitive Damages Awards, W. Kip Viscusi
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This paper provides an analysis of 64 punitive damages awards of at least $100 million. Based on an inventory of these cases, there is evidence that these blockbuster awards are highly concentrated geographically, as two states account for 27 of the 64 awards. The awards also have been rising substantially over time, with the majority of these blockbuster awards taking place since 1999. An assessment of the current status of the blockbuster punitive damages awards indicates that most of these awards have been appealed, but the reversal of these punitive damages awards is the exception rather than the rule. Many …
Punitive Damages: How Judges And Juries Perform, Joni Hersch, W. Kip Viscusi
Punitive Damages: How Judges And Juries Perform, Joni Hersch, W. Kip Viscusi
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This paper presents the first empirical anatysis that demonstrates that juries differ from judges in awarding punitive damages. Our review of punitive damages awards of $100 million or more identified 63 such awards, of which juries made 95 percent. These jury awards are highly unpredictable and are not significantly correlated with compensatory damages. Using data on jury and bench verdicts from the Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1996, we find that juries are significantly more likely to award punitive damages than are judges and award higher levels of punitive damages. Jury awards are also less strongly related to compensatory …