Facts About Tort Liability And Its Impact On Consumers

Overall Impact: The United States Economy

• The cost of the U.S. tort system for 2003 was $246 billion, or $845 per citizen or $3,380 for a family of four.
• U.S. tort costs increased 35.4 percent from 2000 to 2003.
• The Growth of U.S. tort costs have exceeded the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2-3 percentage points in the past 50 years.
• The U.S. tort system is inefficient; it returns less than 50 cents on the dollar and less than 22 cents for actual economic loss to claimants.

Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. U.S. Tort Costs: 2004 Update, (New York, New York, 2005)