You know, it really annoys me when non-USAmericans make fun of the US's seeming "lawsuit culture". They act like we're all lawyer savvy and trigger happy about lawsuits. But here are a few points to remember:
A) The US does not have universal healthcare. Even with insurance, and especially before ACA, healthcare can be expensive, especially for unexpected injuries. If someone is injured by another person or a corporation, they're often saddled with medical bills in addition to the pain and lost income. Someone has to pay, and so a personal injury lawsuit is often the answer.
B) Corporations are very good at public image. When a person is injured by a corporation, said corporation invests a lot of resources to paint the injured party as irrational and greedy, because even though they have plenty of funds to settle, the last thing they want is to admit culpability in a public case. By painting USAmericans as obsessed with suing people over trivial matters, you are playing into corporate propaganda.
The US isn't obsessed with lawsuits. Personal injury suits are just the band-aid to the gaping wound of corporate greed and privatized healthcare.
