The next time you hear about the rising costs of “frivolous lawsuits” (i.e. code for “tort law”), consider reading this long report from the Economic Policy Institute, which skewers the numbers provided by the firm of Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. Why are these numbers important? Because

[a]ny work that relies on these seriously flawed reports is, to that extent, also unreliable. An example of work that is largely dependent on TTP’s flawed reports is the 2004 Economic Report of the President, which is published by the president’s three-member Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). In 2004 the CEA devoted nearly 20 pages of its Economic Report to the tort system, relying extensively—and mistakenly—on TTP’s flawed estimates for its facts.

So, perhaps tort costs (which include medical liabilities) are not causing doctors to be unable to practice their love, after all.

(via Dangerousmeta)