There are numerous problems with the legal system.

1) Lawyers often know they can harass a settlement at the very least when a case has little merit. At the worst, they pay off judges to get the rulings they want. Very little is done to punish corrupt lawyers or judges. Only the worst of the worst ever get punished.

2) Lawyers often get outsized fees. They almost always ask for the maximum, then often file paperwork for "special circumstances" that are routinely granted, then they can often keep any "unclaimed" portion of a class-action. Fees are supposed to be about 30% of a settlement, but often exceed 50% and in some cases can reach something like 98%. Plaintiffs often think they are getting much more money than they end up with, and they almost never find out about how badly they are getting screwed until the very end.

3) Many believe their job is not to protect the legal system, but to pervert it to their immediate needs. This is why we have so many goofy rulings, and why there is a good chance that experiencing turbulence will lead to a payout. Then we will all suffer as airlines stop flying during potential bad weather to avoid more payouts. Lawyers can effectively levy personal taxes on the rest of us by bringing specious lawsuits and winning or settling.

4) Very few people who have the power to do something about our legal system have any interest in fixing it. The current mess ensures full employment for our judges and lawyers, and our politicians were often lawyers.

What do I think should be done?

1) All class-action suits that involve plaintiffs in more than one state must be filed in federal court.
2) Get rid of punitive damages. They are essentially just bonus points for plaintiff's attorneys. If an action was bad, punish it in the criminal system.
3) Cap all contingency attorney's fees at 10%.
4) All claims for damages must be for actual economic losses. "Pain and suffering"? More bonus points.

Economic damages only, no pain and suffering, huh? You're a computer programer, right? You don't need your legs to make a living, do you? What happens if you get run over by a drunk when you're on your cycle and lose your legs. Your medical bills are relatively low because your legs were taken quickly and you made a good recovery. Six months later you're back at your job earning more than ever before. Minimal future medical expense because your stumps have healed perfectly but there's no effective prosthetic for your injury so you don't need therapy and you're just stuck in a chair while you work 80 hours a week and make more than you did before.

Minimal economic loss but you don't have legs. Sounds like the sort of damage that's not easily measured by it's economic impact only.

Cap fees at 10%? you'll never get a lawyer to take a case worth less than $50-100,000. Lots of meritorious cases worth less than that that deserve representation.

See, it's harder to devise a one size fits all cure to our tort system than you thought, isn't it?

See, it's harder

No, the plumber will sue me.

you have 3 left, legion -- want to see the rest of them vaporized?

I agree with your Complaint, it's just the Remedies that are problematic.

No, I don't have any quick fixes either.

I agree that ins. co's often settle too quickly. I was defending my company against a bogus WC claim made by a guy that quit an active project without explanation. Went and sat in front of the magistrate on (2) seperate occasions to answer questions, etc. Our WC attorney was there each time, as was an attorney for the "injured". After (2) visits to magistrtae, WC decided to settle for 35K--what the hell did they care, they paid out and just jacked up our rates since we had a payable incident.

Decided it "wasn't worth ighting any longer"--"injured" party now works for another company doing the exact same type of work. total BS

Just one more reason companies ship jobs to China.

The reality is that nationwide tort reform will happen in the next 10 years. It's the same scenario that brought about the HMO reform in healthcare. The lawyers have made it clear that they are unable or unwilling to police themselves, similar to the billings practices of physicians prior to HMOs. Once the burden on society rises to a breaking point, the gubmint will step in and effect the change.

I think Texas has it right, economic damages plus a max of $250k noneconomic damages. You have to remove the "win the lottery" incentive in order to curb the number of suits.

I wish Americans would figure out that sometimes bad things happen and that doesn't mean it is someone else's fault.