Imagine a medical-malpractice case in which the plaintiff asserts that she was seriously injured because the defendant hospital’s medical staff breached the appropriate standard of care when treating her.The parties aren’t able to settle and, before the case goes to jury trial, the plaintiff’s last demand was for $600,000 while the hospital’s last offer was $200,000. The parties inform the trial court of their respective last positions.The claim of a “trial tax” in civil casesAt trial …