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Nuclear verdicts of at least $10 million reached a 15-year high
in 2023. The Marathon Strategies report found 89 nuclear
verdicts against U.S. companies in 2023, resulting in jury
awards totaling $14.5 billion.
Just this month, Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue were ordered by an
Illinois court to pay $45 million to a family that alleged the
companies’ talcum-based baby powder led to the death of a
relative who was diagnosed with cancer linked to asbestos
exposure. The jury found that Kenvue, the former consumer
healthcare division of the pharmaceutical company, was 70%
responsible for the issue while Johnson & Johnson was 30%
responsible.
Marathon Strategies CEO Phil Singer said one reason may be that
verdicts are influenced by shifts in jury pool demographics.
“Coming out of the Great Recession, there were people who were
young at that time who are now older and may be somewhat more
skeptical about corporate America who are now sitting on juries
and some of their views may be shaped by their experiences
during the Great Recession,” Singer told The Center Square.
Despite a high rate of nuclear verdicts over the past 14 years,
Illinois actually saw a decline in 2023 and was not among the
states that issued the largest verdicts last year. Though
Illinois saw a decline, nationally they have increased in both
size and number since 2009. In 2023, the number of these cases
increased by 27%.
Product liability cases represented the largest share of nuclear
verdicts at 38%.
The industries that received the most nuclear verdicts in
Illinois were broadcasting, casinos and gaming, and health care
technology.
Singer said one way to combat nuclear verdicts is to get
lawmakers involved.
“A number of states have tried to address this legislatively and
they tend to be [Republican-controlled] states,” said Singer.
“Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, they’ve introduced bills that
would limit the size of nuclear verdicts.”
Missouri, Texas, Pennsylvania and Washington were the states
with the largest number of nuclear verdicts in 2023.
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