Statement on 2025-26 Economic Impact of Lawsuit Abuse report
BATON ROUGE, LA – The national Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) released its annual Economic Benefits of Tort Reform report and the news is only getting worse for Louisiana.
Once again, Louisiana is losing to our culture of lawsuit abuse while the trial bar continues to win big. The report reveals excessive tort litigation in Louisiana in 2024 resulting in:
More than 45,000 jobs lost (up from nearly 40,000 last year)
A hidden “tort tax” of more than $1,100 paid by every citizen
More than $3.4 billion in personal income losses for residents
Gross product (GDP) losses of $5.4 billion
Direct costs of more than $3.7 billion
Tax losses:
More than $235,000 at the local level
More than $281,000 at the state level
These numbers demonstrate the real losses to Louisiana’s families and businesses as unfounded lawsuits continue to proliferate across the state. These impacts are felt in everything from the rising cost of insurance to higher prices for groceries and gasoline. Louisiana’s coastal lawsuits’ recent no. 4 ranking as a Judicial Hellhole® is a glaring example of “costly costal litigation that continues to burden the state’s economy and workforce and has openly embraced the plaintiffs’ lawyers leading the charge.”
Louisiana has made some positive steps in addressing legal reform, but this momentum must continue for real, long-lasting impacts that our residents and businesses can feel in their pocketbooks. Other states like Georgia and Florida have passed sweeping reforms that work in concert to address lawsuit abuse. Louisiana must do the same or we will continue to miss economic opportunities and fall behind other, more forward-thinking states.
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About Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW)
Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW) is a high-impact watchdog group with nearly 20,000 supporters across the state dedicated to fixing Louisiana’s broken legal system through transparency, accountability, and lawsuit reform. Visit us on Facebook, Twitter and www.llaw.org.
