nuclear verdicts News

Report Says Social Inflation Adds Up to 11% to Physician Malpractice Claims

Social inflation accounts for 8 to 11 percent of all medical malpractice losses for carriers that insure physicians, according to an actuarial analysis commissioned by The Doctors Co. TDC hired Moore Actuarial Consulting to estimate how much insurers’ average losses …

One Law Firm’s Insurance Industry Predictions for 2023

Attorneys with Clyde & Co., an international law firm, offer these predictions for the insurance industry in the coming year: Courts show less willingness to consider extravagant policyholder coverage arguments post-COVID Onslaught of litigation has subsided but some changes are …

Viewpoint: Jury Blasts Defense with a $464.5 Million Nuclear Verdict

Plaintiffs’ California dreamin’ became a reality when a Los Angeles jury went nuclear with a verdict of $464.6 million after an eight-week trial in June. The verdict included $24.6 million in compensatory damages and a staggering $440 million in punitive …

Miami Jury Returns $95M Verdict Against Bar that Served Drunken Driver

A Miami-Dade jury has returned one of the largest verdicts ever in an automobile accident, awarding $95 million in damages plus attorneys’ fees to a South Florida family whose daughter was killed and whose son was catastrophically injured by a …

Sedgwick: Attorneys Involved in Claims Sooner and More Often

Attorneys are involved in a growing share of insurance claims and they are being retained much sooner, Sedgwick said in a paper released Tuesday. The private claims administrator said its data shows that in 2021, attorneys were involved in about …

Condo Collapse and COVID Court Rulings Among the Top Stories for 2021

The collapse of a Miami-area condominium tower and efforts to achieve a fair resolution for the victims was the Claims Journal’s top story in 2021. Readers were also keenly interested in court rulings involving litigation by policyholders seeking coverage for …

Attorneys: Defuse Juror Anger, Show Humanity to Defuse Potential Nuclear Verdicts

William Tisdale made a poor choice by stopping late at night at convenience store and gasoline station in a sketchy neighborhood of Tacoma. A jury in Pierce County, Washington found Tisdale 10% at fault for the circumstances that led to …

Viewpoint: Adopt a ‘Need-to-Know’ Approach to Avoid Nuclear Verdicts

The last claim settlement I wrote was considered a bargain at $5 million, half of the $10 million amount that would be deemed a “nuclear verdict.” According to VerdictSearch, nuclear verdicts have increased 300% since 2019. Adjusters can take action …

Nuclear Verdicts Continue to Push Commercial Auto Rates

In the last five or six years, trucking companies have watched their insurance rates climb, and many have found the insurance process daunting. Since 2018, trucking insurers have lost around $1.8 billion due to continued pressure from plaintiffs’ attorneys targeting …

Litigation Funding Bills Crop Up in State Houses Across the Country

Lawmakers in three states and in Congress have introduced bills to impose more controls on litigation funding companies, which insurers contend are one of the factors leading to an increase in “nuclear verdicts” that have pushed up claims costs and …