Abolishing the Personal Injury Tort System: The New Zealand Experience
9 Alberta Law Review 169, 1971
Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper Series Palmer Paper No. 67/2015
47 Pages Posted: 7 Feb 2013 Last revised: 5 Jun 2015
Date Written: 1971
Abstract
The position advanced by Mr Laycraft in his earlier article in this volume is one side of what is becoming an ever deepening controversy. In this article Professor Palmer attacks Mr Laycraft's thesis and puts forward some justifications for root and branch change in the field of compensation for personal injuries. A plethora of plans has been suggested in recent years aimed at fundamentally altering compensation for personal injury. It has become evident that there are basic political difficulties involved in implementing these plans. The author, who was retained by the New Zealand Government to draft a White Paper on Personal Injury in New Zealand in 1969, discusses the political struggle which is now reaching a conclusion in New Zealand concerning a very radical proposal made by a New Zealand Royal Commission in 1967.
Keywords: accident compensation, tort reform, New Zealand
JEL Classification: K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation