The true cost of lawsuit abuse
Austin, Texas -The U.S. legal system imposes on the nation a staggering cost of more than $865 billion annually through lawsuit abuse, according to recent study by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) of San Francisco, Calif.
The cost of lawsuit abuse is 27 times more than the federal government spends on homeland secm1ty, 30 times what the National Institutes of Health dedicates to finding cures for deadly diseases, and 13 times the amount the U.S. Department of Education spends to help educate America's children.
The authors of "Jackpot Justice: The True cost of America's Tort System" calculated that the nation's tort system imposes a yearly "tort tax" of $9,827 for a family of four and raises health care spending in the United States by $124 billion.
Lost Jobs and Lost Retirement Saving More than 51,000 U.S. jobs have been lost due to asbestos-related bankruptcies alone. Employees at these bankrupted companies have lost $559 million in pension benefits.
Loss of Shareholder Wealth Lawsuits against American corporations generate an annual loss of $684 billion in shareholder value. Who are American shareholders? Not only Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, but 50 percent of all United States shareholders are ordinary individuals.