America is a Lawsuit Happy Nation--Each Family Pays $3,200 a Year

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) just released its update on how much lawsuits cost the American economy.  ILR finds that Americans spend 2.5 times more on litigation than any other industrialized country and lawsuits now amount to 1.9% of GDP (gross domestic product).

So how do lawsuits impact the average American family and small business?

• The cost to the average U.S. family is more than $3,200 each year, but the way our legal system is set up, claimants receive less than 50 cents on the dollar when they win in court.  The rest goes for attorney fees and court costs.
• Small business takes a big hit.  They pay $98 billion each year.  That is money they could spend on upgrading their equipment, hiring workers and investing in innovative products and services to compete with China, India, Korea and Ireland.

To show how lawsuit abuse affects you, log onto: http://iamlawsuitabuse.org,