Tort abuse is a huge economic burden on our economy, folks. Such abuse is approaching 1 trillion dollars annually and you pay for all of it.

Such widespread abuse is possible only in the US because those who file unsuccessful frivolous suits in other developed countries must pay the costs and expenses of the damaged parties. Accordingly, unlike here in the US, frivolous suits are almost non-existant elsewhere.

Meaningful tort reform has been urgently needed in the US for decades but has never materialized because the democrat party has long been in the hip pocket of the plaintiff's bar. It remains so today.

Despite the urgent need, I am not optimistic that we will see meaningful tort reform until the entire system collapses.

• Only In The US

There is too much money in it for the politicos to move for reform. The so called "consumer attorneys" contribute generously to lawmakers at all levels. When I worked at the California State Senate and there was a bill coming up regarding any form of tort reform, my boss Senator (and former Los Angeles Police Chief) Ed Davis would pull out the report of contributions from the Secretary of State to see who on the committee was taking money from the plaintiffs' attorneys. With that info, he was able to accurately predict the vote. It wasn't only demos who were selling their vote.

A "loser pays costs and attorney fees" system would help.

Agreed, a "loser pays" system akin to that used nearly everywhere else in the world would eliminate just about all such abuse without eliminating valid, merit-based suits to proceed.

I do not expect any meaningful tort reform in the foreseeable future.