Tort system: a regressive tax

Henry Miller writes in the LA Times that There's a Cure for Frivolous Drug Lawsuits. He notes that:

Experts estimate that our tort system costs Americans $180 billion annually in higher costs for purchases as diverse as Little League baseball bats and automobiles. That's more than $1,500 per household annually in increased product costs.

A regressive tax to be sure, and one that is paid primarily to trial lawyers (and then funneled to Democratic politicians--the trial lobby being one of their biggestr contributors.) And the effects go beyond a financial burden on society as Miller's example suggests:

Morning sickness — the nausea and vomiting that afflicts more than half of all pregnant women — can be debilitating. There used to be an excellent prescription medication to treat it, but the manufacturer stopped selling the drug in the United States. Safety problems? Unprofitability? Not at all. Frivolous, debilitating lawsuits killed this drug.

During the 1970s and 1980s, nearly 2,000 lawsuits were filed against Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, alleging that the company's drug, Bendectin, had caused birth defects in the offspring of women who took it to prevent morning sickness. Not a single judgment against the company was upheld, but ultimately Merrell Dow discontinued manufacturing Bendectin because of fears that an unreasonable jury might some day award huge damages.