Rise in Torts Lawsuits: Key Insights from 2025 Litigation Report

Experienced attorneys recently met to discuss the practical implications of the Lex Machina 2025 Torts Litigation Report for legal and insurance professionals.

Request your copy of the Lex Machina 2025 Torts Litigation Report here. 

Ron Porter, Esq. and Chuan Qin, Esq. of Lex Machina sat with Jas Jordan, Esq., founding partner of The Law Office of Jas Jordan in Houston, Texas, for a deep exploration into the shifting landscape of torts litigation. Together, the veteran attorneys analyzed current trends in tort cases in both federal and state courts, noting substantial increases in motor vehicle and premises liability cases and significant declines in medical malpractice litigation in recent years. 

Missed the webinar? You can watch the recording here immediately following registration. 

Why Torts Lawsuits Have Increased Since 2022 

“Pandemic years seemed to cause a decline in case filings, and then there has been a spike in filings since 2022,” said Ron Porter, Lex Machina Legal Data Expert for Torts, Product Liability, Antitrust, and Insurance Litigation. As shown in the report, non-product-liability tort claims for negligence, strict liability, assault, battery, defamation, false imprisonment, false-light invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress have become more frequent since 2022, with 20% more cases initiated in federal district courts in 2023 and 2024 compared to the 2021-22 period. 

“I believe there are three main reasons for that: big verdicts, inflation, and of course Covid-19,” said Jas Jordan. “Now, it’s easier for attorneys to advertise those big verdicts and settlements . . . whether that be on social media or through other media outlets like news clips, radio ads, or billboards.” Rising social costs have also made it increasingly normal for “plaintiffs to have to file a lawsuit because their expenses . . . are in excess of policy limits.” 

That said, there has not been an increase for all varieties of torts claims. Of note, lawsuits alleging medical malpractice have decreased significantly in recent years in federal courts and Texas state courts. “Med-mal cases across the board are down primarily due to tort reform in Texas. The Texas legislature has done a big job reducing the amount of medical malpractice cases that are filed and go to trial,” said Jas Jordan.  

Tort Litigation Insights for State and Federal Courts 

The attorneys focused time comparing tort litigation trends in major state trial courts and their corresponding federal district courts. 

In the Houston, Texas area, “the consensus among attorneys is that federal court is more favorable to tort defendants, and state court is more favorable to plaintiffs,” said Jas Jordan. Indeed, data from Lex Machina shows that judges and juries in the Southern District of Texas from 2016 through 2024 were significantly more likely to side with defendants than plaintiffs in case-dispositive motions and trial verdicts compared to state courts in Harris County.  

That said, the same has not been true for certain other state trial courts and their federal district counterparts. For example, judges in the Northern District of Georgia granted tort defendants’ motions for summary judgment less frequently than state judges in Fulton & DeKalb County state and superior courts in Atlanta during the same period, noted Chuan Qin, Lex Machina Lead Product Manager for State Court Analytics.   

How Analytics Help Attorneys Preview Potential Outcomes 

“Lex Machina gives us the ability to understand how our judge will likely rule. We look at the past motions the judge has granted or denied, and we look into their reasoning behind them,” said Jas Jordan. “It puts us in a better position to predict the possible outcome for our motion, so it’s very beneficial to give us a preview into what the judge may rule.” 

Lex Machina is also the only litigation analytics software service to offer customers regularly published editorialized analyses of data trends through our Litigation Report series. Exclusive insights from the lawyers and data scientists behind our Legal Analytics platform give legal and insurance professionals powerful intelligence for risk assessment and claim resolution in the 2020s.  

In response to an April 2025 survey, over 95% of surveyed law-firm attorneys and professional staff agreed that analytics are valuable to their practice, and seven out of ten reported that clients expect them to reference litigation analytics while working on their files. Ready to join them? Request a short demonstration of Lex Machina and a customized analytical report today.