...and yet, as I understand it, other countries just don't have this problem, not at anything like this scale, anyway. It cannot be the case that a fix is impossible, and yet every other country on earth has managed to fix it. We have to be doing something wrong.

...and this is the obvious difference that seems reasonable to blame, yes - if frivolous lawsuit is low-risk, low-expense action, why not do it.

In reality, looser-pays is usually more subtle, the winner is typically awarded only some standard rate that good lawyers don’t charge, but it seems sufficient for deterrence nonetheless.