Torts: Cures Have Become an Epidemic in Need of a Cure

Americans as a people are very just minded. When we see a wrong committed, we want someone to be punished, so the person who’s been wronged will feel vindicated, and others who may think of wronging anyone in the same fashion will think twice first. One of our favorite ways to punish people or entities is through our civil court system with torts. This system allows any person to confront any entity that’s wronged them and demand retribution. Torts are an important tool enabling people to recover damages lost through medical costs and property lost, as well as reparations for pain and suffering and mental anguish. Tort cases in the American legal system were a cure for many problems, and still are. Unfortunately, torts are now an epidemic that needs a cure.

Many tort cases now are frivolous, with some entering the realm of the totally ridiculous. The cases for and against tort reform are too broad to cover in one paper, but I’ll touch on the highlights of each side’s case, and give my reasons for agreeing that reform is needed.

Lawsuits, while doling out justice to true victims, also provide opportunities for anyone to get rich simply by suing someone. “I’ll sue” is a phrase I’ve heard too many times in my life. Tort costs are expected to be about 298 billion dollars in 2005, or 2.4 percent of the GDP of the United States according to a study in the CPCU Journal. These costs are broken down as 20 percent for economic losses, 22 percent for non-economic losses, 17 percent for claimant attorney fees, 25 percent for administrative costs, and 16 percent for defense costs. (CPCU Journal) It’s not hard to see how these exorbitant costs can drive the prices of liability insurance and medical malpractice insurance up, and indirectly drive up the cost of nearly