Chrysler President Estimates Costs of Lawsuits

...and it's $500.  (Per car.)

[CEO Thomas] LaSorda said the cost of lawsuits - including legal costs and insurance - adds 500 usd to every car and truck sold in the US.

'Perhaps a little 'blue-collar' grounding and manufacturing common sense could go a long way in making sense of the US legal system,' LaSorda told Agence France-Presse at the Chicago Auto Show.

'We need to set some reasonable and fair limits on damages. For every dollar awarded in tort liability, the typical injured party receives only about 46 cents to compensate them for injuries. That means the majority of every dollar goes elsewhere.'

He maintained that the US now spends about 2.23 pct of its gross domestic product on legal fees and other costs associated with litigation while countries such as France, Japan and Canada spend less than one pct of the GDP on litigation.