The Pacific Research Institute's McQuillan and Abramyan published an important op-ed in today's W$J:
Based on our estimates, and applying the best available scholarly research, we believe America's tort system imposes a total cost on the U.S. economy of $865 billion per year. This constitutes an annual "tort tax" of $9,827 on a family of four. It is equivalent to the total annual output of all six New England states, or the yearly sales of the entire U.S. restaurant industry.
PRI has set up a website with the study and background materials.