1. Safer alternative design is only recognized in a minority of US jurisdictions. Warning defects is a separate cause of action from design defects. The Apple warning w/r/t iPods is precisely written as it is because of warning defect laws across the country. Also, w/r/t warning defects, there is no duty to warn of open and obvious defects.
2. w/r/t class actions, damages aren't multiplied by products sold, but rather by injured plaintiffs. There are no surprise sources of liability. The causes of action are mechanical and slow moving.
3. Yes, you are correct w/r/t pleadings. But a pleading is only the first step in filing a lawsuit. Once that is filed, the facts and evidence starts getting passed around. Also see Fed R. Civ. P Rule 12(b)(6) (motion to dismiss) and Rule 56 (summary judgement). The parties vigorously fight between themselves to rid of the lawsuit versus keep it going. And both Defendants and Plaintiffs drag on lawsuits for various tactical reasons.
4. Look to the State Legislatures for the law updates, not the Courts. California has an "Unfair Competition Law" that gives expanded causes of actions, and was created by the Legislature, not the courts. Massachusetts has a similar statute (MGL 93A Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices). It is the legislatures moving to protect their citizens, not the Courts.
Yes, you have to prove cause and effect. Lawyers call it proximate cause and it is an essential element in most (perhaps all) causes of action.
w/r/t forum shopping, I guess. There are specific rules on where a suit may be filed. To move to another jurisdiction you need a plaintiff in that jurisdiction. The Apple case was in California because the plaintiff and Apple are in California.
I skipped over some other stuff but those are the big areas that caught my eye.
And yes, my viewpoint is shaped by being a person close to becoming a lawyer.