CBS-4 KGBT (Harlington, TX) April 8, 2008

A Monday report in Forbes magazine listed Starr County as one of the "Worst Places to Get Sued in America".

The magazine tracked the top 50 most outrageous verdicts and "bizarre" run-away juries and emerged with a map that revealed a pattern of certain types of lawsuits being concentrated in certain areas of the nation.

Starr County emerged as a hotspot for personal injury lawsuits.

Forbes quoted a Texas personal injury lawyer who described Starr County as saying, "That venue probably adds about 75% to the value of the case."

The magazine said the Gulf Coast jurisdictions of the Rio Grande Valley in southeast Texas have historically had one of the worst reputations among defense attorneys for unpredictable juries and judges.

Forbes reported that a recent wave of tort-reform legislation, making it harder for out-of-state plaintiffs to sue in local courts, has improved that reputation quite a bit.

The magazine quoted a Pacific Research Institute study that gave Texas' legal system its 18th-highest score in its 2008 U.S. Tort Liability Index.

On The List:

• Los Angeles (Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits)
• Miami (medical malpractice);
• Atlantic County, N.J. (pharmaceutical)
• Starr County, Tex. (personal injury)
• Cook County, Ill. (product liability)
• Mississippi (class action lawsuits)
• Clark County, Nev. (construction litigation)
• West Virginia (environmental lawsuits)
• Philadelphia (libel suits by public officials)