Lawyers USA compiles an annual list of the Top Ten (10) Jury Verdicts for the year. The jury verdicts identified are for single-person, family, or small group claims and do not include business-against-business litigation, class actions, or consolidated cases. Take a look at this past year’s Top Ten (10) Jury Verdicts with a synopsis as compiled by Lawyers USA:
10) Tobacco plaintiff wins $80 million verdict: After eight (8) straight defense verdicts in the individual tobacco litigation in Florida, the daughter of a smoker who died of lung cancer won a resounding $80 million verdict in November, including $72 million in punitive damages.
9) Jury delivers $82.5 million verdict in gas plant blast case: A Texas jury has handed down a verdict of more than $82 million against two natural gas plant companies after a worker in a rebuilt and refurbished plant was killed in an explosion.
8) $89 million in airplane crash case: In April of last year, a Pennsylvania jury handed down an $89 million verdict against the manufacturer of an airplane carburetor after a crash killed four people and severely injured a fifth.
7) Florida jury awards $90.8 million to smoker’s widow: In April, a Florida jury awarded $90.8 million to the wife of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer.
6) Law firm slammed with $103 million verdict for working against client: In October, a Mississippi jury hit the world’s largest law firm with a $103 million verdict in a suit alleging legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duties, conspiracy and interfering with business relationships.
5) Jury awards $124.5 million in passenger van crash: A Texas jury found a bus company and driver liable for $124.5 million to seven passengers injured or killed while riding in a van in a state where it was not licensed to operate.
4) Small firm lawyers win $132.5 million in Ford rollover retrial: The third time was a charm for small-firm lawyers who won $132.5 million against Ford for a rollover accident that killed 22-year-old New York Mets prospect Brian Cole.
3) $152 million for estate of woman given free cigarettes as a child: A Massachusetts jury awarded $152 million to the son of a deceased woman who received free cigarettes as a child from representatives of tobacco company Lorillard.
2) Worker’s wife awarded $208.8 million for asbestos-laced laundry: In April of 2010, 68-year-old Rhoda Evans won $208.8 million for the mesothelioma caused by asbestos contamination that her husband brought home from his job. The jury awarded $8.8 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages. The compensatory award was split 70/30 between the pipe maker and the employer, but the pipe maker alone was held responsible the entire punitive award.
1) Small firm wins $505.1 million verdict: Arguing that oversized vials of a drug were “weapons of mass infection” that led to an outbreak of Hepatitis C at outpatient surgical centers, Las Vegas plaintiffs’ attorney Robert Eglet convinced a jury that the manufacturer and its distributor should be punished with $500 million in punitive damages, in addition to $5.1 million in compensatory damages.
