US Tort Cost Trends report from Towers Watson

A decline in both real and nominal GDP, a rising level of unemployment and decreasing tort activity as a result of a lower level of economic activity helped drive tort costs down by 2.7%, or $6.8bn, in the US in 2009, according to the 2010 Update on US Tort Cost Trends from Towers Watson. In total, the US tort system cost $248.1bn in 2009, which translates to $808 per person, versus $838 per person in 2008.