Excessive tort costs in the United States due to lawsuit abuse.

 

Cost of liability insurance for a Texas dredging company per employee due to an explosion of dredging lawsuits in the state. Dallas Business Journal, July 20, 2007.

Percentage of small business owners who say they could grow their business if they were protected from lawsuit abuse. "Small Businesses: How the Threat of Lawsuits Impacts Their Operations" Harris Interactive, May 10, 2007.

 

The amount of tort-related costs paid by small businesses in 2005. About $20 billion of that was paid out-of-pocket rather than through insurance. "Tort Liability Costs for Small Business" Institute for Legal Reform, May 2007.

Estimated annual "tort tax" imposed by the U.S. tort system on a family of four. The U.S. tort system costs $865 billion annually – or $9,827 for a family of four, according to a recent study by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI). The number is: 30 times the National Institutes for Health budget to cure deadly diseases; 27 times federal spending on Homeland Security; 13 times Department of Education funding; and equivalent to the total yearly sales of the entire U.S. restaurant industry. The report also found that the practice of “defensive medicine” by physicians fearing litigation increases health care costs by $124 billion per year. This new comprehensive examination of U.S. tort costs calculates both the direct and the indirect costs of America’s legal system. (Pacific Research Institute, Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America’s Tort System, 2007)

 

Number of applications the Texas Medical Board received for state medical licenses in 2006, up 35 percent from 2005, in large part due to recent legal reforms. Austin Business Journal, March 19. 2007

 

Fear of frivolous litigation and outrageous jury verdicts has caused manufacturers to limit distribution or stop production of life-saving implantable medical devices, pacemakers and stents. Seventy-five percent of suppliers of biomaterials used to make medical implants banned sales to U.S. manufacturers as a result of these fears. ("Biomaterials Availability: a Vital Health Care Industry Hangs in the Balance," Aronoff Associates for HIMA; "How FDA Regulation and Injury Litigation Cripple the Medical Device Industry," Policy Analysis 412, August 28, 2001)