Torts and Discrimination

Abstract

Current tort law contains incentives to target individuals and communities based on race and gender. Surprisingly, the basis for such targeting is the seemingly neutral use of three different race- and gender-based statistical tables (for wages, life expectancy, and worklife expectancy) which, when used in tort damage calculations, result in a great disparity between damages awarded to whites versus blacks and men versus women. Thus, tort law’s remedial damage scheme perpetuates existing racial and gender inequalities by compensating individuals (especially children) based on their race and gender. This Article proposes a feasible, low-cost, logical solution that pushes toward a more efficient and less discriminatory tort law remedial system. Read the full Article here.