By: Jack Vales and Kristen Rodriguez

The landscape for courtroom success in the United States has become increasingly challenging for corporate defendants. This should come as no surprise to anyone who follows the headlines. Indeed, it seems that hardly a week goes by without news of a “nuclear verdict,” i.e. a jury verdict of $10 million or more.  Even more concerning, “mega nuclear verdicts” – or those that equal or exceed $100 million – are occurring with increasing frequency.

The data bears out these concerns. The US Chamber of Commerce identified 1,288 nuclear verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2022.¹ More than 23% of these verdicts occurred in product liability cases.² Over this same period, the median value of nuclear verdicts steadily increased, with the notable exception of 2020 and early 2021, when civil jury trials largely stopped in the US due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In product liability cases, for example, the median nuclear verdict increased from less than $25 million in 2013 to a high of $36 million in 2022, as illustrated below.³

The rise of “mega nuclear verdicts” –and press coverage about them – has undoubtedly contributed to this inflation.  2022, for example, saw a record 22 reported verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases that totaled $100 million or more.⁴The verdicts delivered by juries across the country in 2023 did not reverse these trends.  In fact, the data shows that verdicts above $100 million hit an all-time high in 2023 and that there has been a nearly 400% increase in $100 million-plus verdicts since 2013.⁵

The rise of nuclear verdicts in the U.S. presents significant potential adverse consequences to corporate defendants and the people they employ. The costs to appeal and ultimately pay such verdicts – even after post-trial remittitur – can produce job layoffs, redirect funds intended for research and development, increase borrowing costs and premiums for liability insurance, and increase everyday costs for consumers.

Corporations, however, are not powerless to overcome the risks of rising nuclear verdicts.  At a policy level, companies should consider lobbying for the enactment of common-sense legislative solutions, such as caps on liability for non-economic damages, a key driver of nuclear verdicts.  Companies may also lobby for changes to Court rules, including to set forth robust standards for the admission of expert testimony and to enhance early case disclosure requirements that will in turn help ferret out frivolous claims.

At an individual case level, there are also many strategies and solutions available to corporate defendants to prevent or mitigate liability for excessive jury verdicts.  Over the next year, our Dentons Product Liability and Complex Torts practice group will publish a series of articles highlighting concrete solutions at various phases of the case life cycle designed to reduce risk and ultimately help produce positive outcomes. To learn more about these and other solutions, please contact your Dentons team.

1. U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Legal Reform, “Nuclear Verdicts: An Update on Trends, Causes, and Solutions” (May 2024) at p. 3.↩
2. Id. at p. 8.↩
3. Id. at p. 10.↩
4. Id. at p. 12.↩
5. Id. at p. 14.↩

US Trial Strategy Series
The Causes of Excessive Jury Verdicts
How to Build a Winning Defense Case – Pretrial Strategy

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