The size and frequency of jury verdicts worth more than $10 million (often called “nuclear verdicts”) are increasing across the United States, according to a report released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform.
All states are not created equal. Some states consistently award more large verdicts than other states.
Let’s take a look at which states award the highest personal injury verdicts, as well as some other interesting findings from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report.
States with the highest personal injury verdicts
Over the last decade, the vast majority of nuclear verdicts have been awarded in ten states. These states produce the majority of nuclear verdicts even when accounting for population differences.
| States with the most nuclear verdicts per capita (2010-2019) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Per capita rank | Average state population | Nuclear verdicts per 100k people |
| Florida | 1 | 20,109,631 | 1.059 |
| New York | 2 | 19,560,913 | 0.772 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 12,774,637 | 0.611 |
| Illinois | 4 | 12,822,325 | 0.585 |
| California | 5 | 38,618,190 | 0.546 |
| Alabama | 6 | 4,845,320 | 0.537 |
| New Mexico | 7 | 2,087,643 | 0.527 |
| Georgia | 8 | 10,147,472 | 0.522 |
| Wyoming | 9 | 577,786 | 0.519 |
| Texas | 10 | 27,172,097 | 0.486 |
| Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform | |||
As you can see, Florida has more nuclear verdicts per capita than any other state in the country. From 2010-2019, Florida juries handed out 213 nuclear verdicts for a total of $35 billion. The median nuclear verdict award was $20 million.
Almost 75 percent of Florida’s nuclear verdicts were issued in product liability cases (38.5 percent) and car accident cases (24.4 percent).
To put things in perspective, the tenth-ranked state (Texas) handed out 132 nuclear verdicts for a total of $7 billion. The median nuclear verdict award was $21 million.
In Texas, nuclear verdicts were largely the result of motor vehicle accident claims (32.6 percent). Texas is particularly known for nuclear verdicts against the trucking industry. Product liability and premises liability lawsuits each made up about 21 percent of Texas’ nuclear verdict total.
The size and frequency of nuclear verdicts are increasing across the United States
According to the data collected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, the size of nuclear verdicts is increasing.
The median nuclear verdict increased from $19.3 million in 2010 to $24.6 million in 2019 (a 27.5 percent increase over the 10-year period). The increase was particularly significant in motor vehicle cases (from $15.2 million in 2010 to $24.8 million in 2019) and product liability cases (from $23 million in 2010 to $35.1 million in 2019).
| Median nuclear verdict by type of lawsuit (2010-2019) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawsuit | Mean nuclear verdict | ||
| Product liability | $191.6 million | ||
| Intentional tort | $90.6 million | ||
| Other negligence | $40.8 million | ||
| Medical liability | $36.8 million | ||
| Auto accident | $33.8 million | ||
| Premises liability | $31.7 million | ||
| Miscellaneous | $28.4 million | ||
| All personal injury lawsuits | $76 million | ||
| Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform | |||
Not only are nuclear verdicts increasing in size, but they’re also becoming more common.
The data shows an upward trend in the frequency of nuclear verdicts in personal injury cases over the last 10 years. The trend is present across all types of personal injury lawsuits, with the exception of intentional tort claims.
Factors that make it more (or less) likely that you’ll receive a nuclear verdict
The good news for plaintiffs is that nuclear verdict awards are increasing in size and frequency. The bad news is that it’s impossible to predict whether YOU will receive a nuclear verdict.
Every personal injury case is different. With that being said, there are three factors that make a nuclear verdict more likely:
- Significant injuries. Almost all nuclear verdicts involve plaintiffs who were seriously injured or killed. Generally speaking, the more life-altering the injury, the larger the verdict.
- Non-economic damages. Cases with significant non-economic damages (pain and suffering) or punitive damages are more likely to result in nuclear verdicts. Economic damages (medical expenses, lost wages, etc.) account for only 14 percent of the total nuclear verdict damage awards.
- Good representation. Research shows that plaintiffs’ lawyers’ increased ability to manipulate juror determination of non-economic damages has led to an increase in nuclear verdicts. The bottom line: A good lawyer can have an oversized impact on the amount of damages you receive.
Interestingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform report concludes that the increase in nuclear verdicts is, in part, due to a snowball effect. The public has become so accustomed to viewing news reports or advertisements suggesting that it’s normal for plaintiffs to receive verdicts in the hundreds of millions of dollars that people don’t hesitate to award such amounts when they become jurors—thus continuing the trend.
Nuclear verdicts by case type (2010-2019)
Just as there are factors that may increase a jury award, there are three factors that may limit a jury award:
- Your own negligence. Depending on the shared fault rule your state has adopted, your damages can be reduced or completely erased if the jury believes you were partially at fault for the accident giving rise to the lawsuit.
- Damage caps. Almost all states have damage caps that limit the amount of damages you can receive for certain types of cases.
- Failure to mitigate damages. In all states, plaintiffs must mitigate their damages. This means plaintiffs who have been wronged must make reasonable efforts to limit the resulting harm. Failing to do so might preclude the recovery of damages that could have been avoided through reasonable efforts.
There is no question that nuclear verdicts are on the rise in the United States. Although this sounds like great news for plaintiffs and lawyers, there are some potential downsides. Mainly, higher verdicts can lead to higher insurance premiums and an increased cost of services.
For example, one report concludes that nuclear verdicts within the construction industry in New York have driven up the cost of construction projects, which has contributed to New York’s dramatic housing costs and shortages.