Bloomberg has compiled new data comparing the 50 largest jury verdicts over the past few years. In 2010, ten of these verdicts were from product liability cases. 2009 only saw five jury verdicts in the top 50 and 2008 only had one such verdict. In 2010, 15 faulty product verdicts were for more than $25 million; Only seven verdicts met these requirements in 2009.
Monetarily, the largest five product liability cases awarded damages of $1.1 billion, a 77% increase over 2009 and a 170% increase from 2008. In an interesting twist on this data is the reason behind the increase. According to a litigation expert who represents the defendants, the increase has nothing to do with any changes in the law, but rather with the mood of the juries. According to the expert, juries may have subtle biases against large corporations and an assumption that they simply don’t care about consumers.
For the full article on the product liability jury award trend, visit Bloomberg.
The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker works with a nationally recognized team of product liability trial attorneys to protect consumers from dangerous faulty products. If you or a loved one has been hurt by a faulty product, please contact us at (800) 333-0000 for a free consultation. You may be entitled to compensation.
