Again this year, we commissioned Verdict Search – the research division for highly-respected national publisher and data company ALM – to prepare an exclusive report on the nation’s 10 largest personal injury outcomes for our readers. 

Toxic torts topped the list in 2023, with Bayer and other pesticide makers facing off against claims their products cause cancer and other deadly diseases. With thousands more lawsuits pending against these companies and considerable disagreement on the link between their products and cancer, the courtroom battles will likely continue for years.

So, with no further delay, here are the Top 10 personal injury verdicts for 2023.

Case Summaries

• $1.56 billion* in a toxic torts verdict to three people who regularly used the pesticide Roundup and were later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The billion-dollar verdict against Monsanto, owned by Bayer Chemical, follows jury awards of $1.25 million, $175 million, and $332 million in October 2023. Bayer plans to challenge the jury’s award. More details.
   
• $976.4 million finding in a motor vehicle case to a Pennsylvania furniture builder who was paralyzed after his seatbelt allegedly failed. According to the driver’s attorney, the restraint system of a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT literally ripped itself apart due to a defective design. More details.
   
• $860 million wrongful death award for the family of a young woman killed when high winds caused a construction crane to fall on her apartment building, collapsing several floors. The Dallas jury found the defendants negligent for failing to set the 200-foot tall crane properly. More details.
   
• $857 million toxic torts jury award to four students and two parents in a case involving exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, which were banned by the EPA in 1976. The plaintiffs successfully alleged that a Washington state middle school had not adequately removed PCBs from the building. More details.
   
• $787 million to an Ohio family in the wrongful death of their 2-year-old son after he slipped into a gap between a bunk bed ladder and the bed and died of asphyxia. Even though the bed was eventually recalled, the manufacturer continued to sell the product on Wayfair. More details.
   
• $745 million verdict in the wrongful death of a 25-year-old nurse killed when a car crashed into a Missouri urgent care facility. The driver had purchased nitrous oxide from a local smoke shop and was allegedly high on the substance when he lost control of his car. More details.
   
• $557 million motor vehicle finding for a Houston woman who sat on a railroad track and was struck by a train. Although the woman was intoxicated at the time of the incident, her attorney argued successfully that the engineer and crew made a conscious decision not to stop or slow down. More details.
   
• $409 million verdict in a motor vehicle crash that killed a 4-year-old girl and badly injured her mother after a truck driver allegedly on meth ran a stop sign. The case inspired the enactment of Katie’s Law, which now requires all Louisiana drivers in injury crashes to take a drug test. More details.
   
• $332 million** toxic tort award to a former land surveyor in another Roundup case. After using Roundup for 35 years in his California garden and as part of his jobs, the plaintiff argued successfully that the pesticide caused his rare form of T-cell lymphoma. More details.
   
• $230.4 million wrongful death and products liability finding for several plaintiffs who suffered severe liver damage from tainted bottled water produced by Real Water. The Food & Drug Administration investigation determined that Real Water was contaminated with the chemical hydrazine, a toxic rocket fuel. The company is no longer in business. More details.

* In April 2024, a Missouri judge cut punitive damages. Reduced award: $611 million.
** In February 2024, a California judge let compensatory damages stand but cut punitive damages. Reduced award: $28 million.