(The Center Square) – A new insights report finds that American juries are ordering more supersized verdicts against companies than ever before, and in Illinois alone, state courts issued $3.4 billion in so-called nuclear verdicts from 2009 to last year.
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
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