Lawsuit abuse is
threatening
Texas’ affordability.
Those costs reach families through higher insurance premiums, consumer prices and the cost of doing business.
TLR works to stop abuse, protect legitimate claims and keep Texas affordable.
What is Hurting Affordability in Texas?
Lawsuit abuse raises costs for all of us, even if we never step foot in a courtroom.
How it works
From billboards to your grocery bill.
Step 01
$2.5B
Claims get manufactured
Today's personal-injury industry runs a sophisticated system for generating claims. Billboards, television spots, paid search, and precision digital ads identify potential clients, generate claims, and feed a network of attorneys, medical providers, and outside financiers.
Step 02
$15–16B
Outside money funds the case
Texas currently has no general statewide requirement forcing litigation funders to disclose their involvement in a lawsuit.
Source — Swiss Re / industry reporting · 2024Step 03
$10M+
A verdict becomes “nuclear”
A jury award of $10 million or more is generally considered a nuclear verdict. Texas recorded 23 such verdicts in 2024, more than any other state.
Step 04
$5,549
Texans pay the bill
Litigation costs do not stay in the courtroom. They are priced into insurance, goods and services, and paid by households that were never party to a lawsuit.
Top 10
Texas is among the ten most expensive states for tort costs per household — $5,481 in 2025.
Source — Perryman Group analysis · 2026
What excessive litigation adds to Texas prices
- Prescription medications
- 8.6%
- Home insurance
- 4.3%
- Health insurance
- 2.6%
- Auto insurance
- 2.4%
- Household products
- 2.1%
Prescription medications
Home insurance
Health insurance
Auto insurance
Household products
Source: Perryman Group analysis, 2026.
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Reforms for 2027
Reforms that will slash the hidden tort tax on Texans.
Priority 01
Medical Billing Fraud
Jurors should know the true value of the medical care provided to the plaintiff and about the financial relationship between the lawyer and the provider. Inflated billed amounts should not be used to multiply the value of a lawsuit.
Read about medical billing fraud
Priority 02
Third-party litigation funding
Who is financing the lawsuit? Courts and parties should know who is financing a lawsuit, who stands to profit from it, and whether foreign interests are involved.
Follow the fundingNuclear verdicts are the clearest evidence of what these costs look like in a courtroom. Damages and nuclear verdicts explains how they happen and what Texas has and has not settled.
A record of reform
Texas changed its civil justice system.
It took years of research, organizing and legislative work.
It also took people across business, law and public service who stayed with it.
TLR helped turn that effort into major reforms. Today, the work continues as new forms of lawsuit abuse emerge.
32 years of results, session by session
- 1994
TLR is founded by a group of Texas business owners and civic leaders.
- 1995
The first omnibus reform passes — venue reform and punitive damage caps.
- 2003
Proposition 12 restores predictable medical liability rules.
- Today
TLR works against social inflation, nuclear verdicts, and funder-driven litigation.
Current work
What TLR is working on now.
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