Get the Facts

Lawsuit abuse is having a devastating impact on our society.

KEY FACTS:

75% of voters say lawyers benefit the most from lawsuits; only 4% say victims do.

85% of voters say the number of frivolous lawsuits is a serious problem.

Three-quarters of all small business owners in America are concerned they might be the target of a frivolous or unfair lawsuit. Of those who are most concerned, six in ten say the fear of lawsuits makes them feel more constrained in making business decisions generally, and 54 percent say lawsuits or the threat of lawsuits forced them to make decisions they otherwise would not have made.

Small businesses pay $20 billion in tort liability costs out of their own pockets each year.

Small businesses are responsible for 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs created in the U.S economy. More jobs, higher wages, and better benefits could be provided if the average small business earning $1 million in revenue didn't have to spend $20,000 each year on an out of control lawsuit system.

The growth in U.S. tort costs since 1950 has exceeded growth in GDP by an average of two to three percentage points annually.

America's civil justice system is the world's most expensive, with a direct cost in 2005 of $261 billion, or 2.09 percent of the U.S. GDP.

The cost of the U.S. tort liability system as a percentage of GDP is more than double the average cost of any other industrialized nation.

Tort costs were $880 per U.S. citizen in 2005, meaning a family of four paid a "litigation tax" of more than $3,500 for the U.S. civil justice system, a cost driven up due to increased costs from lawsuits and other liability expenses that force businesses to raise the price of products and services.