The Texas legal system has been the nation's 'pin up boy', for year, when it comes to lawsuit abuse. The whole system is inflicted with junk lawsuits and lawsuit abuse. These lawsuits have led the doctors to leave the area in search of greener pastures, kept life saving drugs from entering the market, small businessmen to work in constant fear of losing their business.
The overall impact of such lawsuits on the US economy can be pointed below:
· 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.
A recent study lists the Texas Liability system among the worst. The survey also showed that nearly 81 percent of the respondents indicated that the litigation environment of a state can affect decisions such as where to locate or where to do business.
The job of Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) is to fight such lawsuit abuse. The Co-founder and Chairman of TLR, Mr.
Dick Weekley, envision a litigation system devoid of game playing and intimidation, allowing plaintiffs to be fairly compensated and defendants to get a fair day in court.