Letting Good Deeds Go Unpunished: Volunteer Immunity Laws and Tort Deterrence

Authors

Jill R. Horwitz, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow
Joseph Mead, Cleveland-Marshall College of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2009

Abstract

Does tort law deter risky behavior in individuals? We explore this question by examining the relationship between tort immunity and volunteering. During the 1980s and 1990s, nearly every state provided some degree of volunteer immunity. Congress followed with the 1997 Volunteer Protection Act. This article analyzes these acts, identifying three motivations for them: the chilling effects of tort liability, limits on liability insurance, and moral concerns. Using data from the Independent Survey’s Giving and Volunteering surveys, we then identify a large and positive correlation between immunity and volunteering. We next consider the implications of the findings for tort theory and nonprofit law.

Recommended Citation

Horwitz, Jill R., co-author. "Letting Good Deeds Go Unpunished: Volunteer Immunity Laws and Tort Deterrence." J. Mead, co-author. J. Empirical Legal Stud. 6, no. 3 (2009): 585-635.