With an estimated 21,325,018 citizens (source: US Census Department), lawsuit abuse costs the State of Texas:

$15,375,337,978 per year.

• In a recent study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, business leaders ranked Texas' civil liability system 46 out of 50 in terms of fairness. Harris Interactive, "State Liability Systems Ranking Study", February, 2003 http://www.tala.com/News%20Releases/secondyearworst.htm

• A 2002 study of Texas Medical Association members found:

  • More than half of all Texas physicians - including those in the prime of their professional careers - are considering early retirement due to this growing medical liability insurance crisis.

  • About 40 percent say they are imposing new or tighter limits on the patients they will accept.

  • Nearly a third say they are reducing the types or kinds of services they provide, and

  • Almost a fourth say they're seeing difficulties recruiting or retaining physicians in their communities. http://www.texmed.org/liability/professionincrisis.asp

• Four counties (Jefferson, Starr, Hidalgo and Nueces) in Texas top the American Tort Reform Association's list of Judicial Hellholes. "Bringing Justice to America's Judicial Hellholes" American Tort Reform Association.

• A recent report in the Quarterly Journal of Economics estimates that limiting unreasonable jury awards could cut healthcare costs by 5-9%, which would save $70-126 billion in healthcare costs per year. Saving this money would lower the cost of healthcare coverage and permit an additional 2.4 - 4.3 million Americans to obtain medical insurance. Going without Health Insurance, Families USA, March 10, 2003; "Number of Uninsured Americans On the Rise," Associated Press, March 5, 2003; " Avoiding Health Insurance Crowd-Out," Journal of Health Economics, March 2000

• In a July 2003 study conducted by Harris Interactive, 43% of doctors reported that they have avoided prescribing a particular medication because they were aware that the drug might be involved in litigation. Pharmaceutical Liability Study, Harris Interactive, July 15, 2003

• 75% of suppliers of biomaterials used to make medical implants banned sales to U.S. manufacturers because of litigation fears. Although the Biomaterials Assurance Assistance Act of 2000 aimed to remedy this by providing important legal protections to suppliers in liability lawsuits, numerous medical device producers choose to remain overseas. Study by New York-based Aronoff Associates for HIMA entitled "Biomaterials Availability: a Vital Health Care Industry Hangs in the Balance ; "How FDA Regulation and Injury Litigation Cripple the Medical Device Industry" Policy Analysis 412, August 28, 2001

• An estimated $50 billion per year is spent on unnecessary test procedures designed only to guard doctors and hospitals against malpractice claims. "Do Doctors Practice Defensive Medicine?" Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1996