US tort costs totalled $261bn in 2005

According to the “2006 Update on US Tort Cost Trends” from the Tillinghast business of Towers Perrin, US tort costs totalled $261bn in 2005, which is approximately $880 per person and $4 less per person than in 2004. The growth rate of tort costs in 2005 was 0.5%, which is significantly lower than the growth rate of 5.7% in 2004 and 5.5% in 2003. The $1.1bn increase over tort costs in 2004 is the smallest since 1997. The 2006 Update analyses US tort costs from 1950 through 2005, with projections through 2008.