Nuclear Verdicts in 2024

Juries are going “nuclear” by compensating victims with increasing large verdicts against U.S companies. This trend is making insurance policies more costly and harder to come by for those nursing homes that neglect and abuse vulnerable adults. The number of cases where the Jury awards $10 million against corporate defendants, known as “nuclear” verdicts, has grown by 27% in 2023, continuing an upward growth, according to Marathon Strategies. 

Chubb Insurance said that the number of nuclear verdicts are going up. Chubb, one of the world’s largest insurers, plans to appoint a full-time executive that will regulate the problem of these jury verdicts, Chief Executive Evan Greenberg told an audience of industry insiders.

Seth Gillson, head of North America industry practices for Chubb said:

“Folks vote two ways: in the ballot box and in the jury box, people are just desensitized to the numerical value, [and] that’s coupled with the fact that people are angry.” 

In a recent report, The U.S Chamber of Commerce said that the number of verdicts above $100 million reached by 2023, up nearly 400% from 2013. The nuclear verdict is not new, but American corporations are now worrying of its growth in conservative jurisdictions. People are sick of corporate malfeasance.  

These awards represent the Americans’ responses to losses or tragedies, such as the value of life, rather than out-of-pocket direct expenses. 

Examples include:

In May, a Philadelphia jury ordered Exxon Mobil to pay $725 million to a mechanic who had developed acute myeloid leukemia after being exposed to benzene in gasoline. Andrew DuPont and Patrick Wigle, lawyers of the man who won the lawsuit against Exxon, said that the mechanic’s pain and suffering was “immeasurable” and that the jury verdict was based on common sense, which anyone can see even from an outside perspective. Exxon then asked the court to reduce this verdict as it was “irrational”.

Last month, a California jury ordered Alki David to pay $900 million to a former employee who brought sexual battery claims. Gary Dordick, lawyer who secured the $900 million verdict in the Alki David case said:

“Lawsuits are good for society, Lawsuits and the right to hold corporations accountable are what make them do the right thing. Left to their own devices, they would not.” 

In 2022, a Texas jury awarded Charter Spectrum with a $7.37 billion verdict after one of its cable repairmen’s murdered an elderly woman. The amount was later reduced. Chris Hamilton, lead trial lawyer for the plaintiff in the Charter case said that “big verdicts always happen for a reason.” 

Verdicts often come from tragic circumstances. Corporations are just “whining” and complaining about a small number of cases involving large verdicts. Linda Lispen, chief executive of the American Association for Justice, said:

“The insurance industry’s use of the phrase ‘nuclear verdicts’ is them throwing a temper tantrum when they don’t like the results of a case,”. Victims are forced to pursue legislative action because most corporations fail to pay for legitimate claims.

According to data provided by her association, most cases in state courts are contract cases, companies suing other companies. 

Many Americans are angry at big companies, and jury boxes are the only place they can punish them for their behavior. Jason Bloom, a Dallas-based jury consultant said, “It’s becoming more and more like class warfare, where the 99% is against the 1% and the corporate defendant is seen as the 1% and the juries are using their jury service as an opportunity to affect change in society and to balance power”.