Statistics from ACEC's 1995-1996 Liability Survey should worry American citizens who are eager to see the U.S. economy grow more vibrant. This trend seems to mark a leveling off of liability insurance costs after almost a decade during which they rose, then fell. Robert Flory of Booker Associates in St. Louis, chairman of ACEC's Risk Management Committee, calls those findings troubling. They're troubling because of what they imply for the economy over the long haul - that consulting engineers feel they cannot risk innovations that could lower costs and create new industries. Promising as they are, new techniques and materials can turn into lightning rods for lawsuits if not backed by a long record of results.
Trial lawyers argue that it's in the public interest to maintain the status quo in the legal system.
That figure should send a powerful message to our lawmakers. Shooting Pains and other sore spots As encouraging as some of the statistics about insurance costs are, they should not hide the fact that the consulting engineering industry continues to be hard hit by litigation. And the pain shoots through the economy. When ACEC conducted its first survey almost 20 years ago, rates for liability insurance were stable, though relatively high. Later in the decade came what the industry remembers as a liability crisis.