Top Individual Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements of 2025

Real Water Poisoning: $3.8 Billion Verdict in Alkaline Water Liver Failure Cases

A Clark County jury awarded $3.8 billion against Real Water on March 21, 2025, after finding the Las Vegas alkaline water company liable for poisoning consumers with hydrazine-contaminated product that caused acute liver failure, autoimmune disease, and death.

After trial: The $3.8 billion verdict includes about $3 billion in punitive damages that plaintiffs' attorney Will Kemp says will be cut to roughly $1.4 billion under Nevada's statutory cap limiting punitive damages to three times compensatory damages. Real Water is bankrupt and no longer operating, so any payout will have to come from its insurers.

$2.53 Billion Ford Super Duty Roof Crush Verdict for a Georgia Couple

A federal jury in Columbus, Georgia awarded $30.5 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 billion in punitive damages against Ford Motor Company for the deaths of Herman and Debra Mills, killed when the roof of their 2015 F-250 Super Duty crushed down on them in a rollover. Butler Prather LLP tried the case, with James E. Butler Jr., Ramsey Prather, Daniel Philyaw, and Allison Bailey on the trial team. The honest frame: Ford called the verdict impermissibly extreme, moved for a new trial, and in September 2025 settled this case and the related $1.7 billion Hill case on confidential terms, so the verdict was never collected as awarded.

After trial: Ford's motion for a new trial was never decided: the case settled on confidential terms in September 2025, and the verdict was never collected as awarded.

Cobb County Jury Awards John Barnes $2.065 Billion in Roundup Cancer Trial

A Cobb County, Georgia jury found that Monsanto's Roundup caused John Barnes's non-Hodgkin lymphoma and awarded him $2.065 billion, with Arnold & Itkin's Kyle Findley serving as lead trial lawyer.

After trial: Bayer settled the case in November 2025 on confidential terms, so the verdict was never collected as awarded.

$966 Million Talc Verdict Against Johnson & Johnson for a Mesothelioma Death, Punitive Award Vacated

On October 6, 2025, a Los Angeles County jury ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $966 million to the family of Mae K. Moore, a mother of three who died of mesothelioma in December 2021 at age 88 after decades of using the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower. The award comprised $16 million in compensatory damages and $950 million in punitive damages, reported at the time as the largest talc-mesothelioma verdict ever returned against Johnson & Johnson. On March 13, 2026, the trial judge, Ruth Ann Kwan, vacated the entire $950 million punitive award, finding the malice showing insufficient, while leaving the $16 million compensatory judgment intact. Both sides have said they will appeal. Dean Omar Branham Shirley tried the case for the Moore family, and this page documents it as part of the public record.

After trial: The $950 million punitive award was vacated by the trial court in March 2026; $16 million in compensatory damages stands and cross-appeals are pending.

Utah Judge Awards $951 Million Over Botched Delivery at Steward-Owned Jordan Valley Medical Center

A Utah judge entered a $951 million default judgment against Steward Health Care after newly trained nurses, an excessive Pitocin drip, and a delayed C-section at Jordan Valley Medical Center left a newborn permanently brain damaged.

After trial: Steward Health Care, the defendant, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024 amid the collapse of its hospital chain. After the August 2025 verdict, attorneys for the family said it was uncertain whether they could ever collect and were hoping to recover at least the roughly $475 million awarded in punitive damages.

$831 Million Dram Shop Verdict Against Shuttered New Braunfels Bar, Largest From a San Antonio Jury

A Bexar County jury awarded roughly $831 million to Blas Mendez Jr., a longtime Seguin ISD special education behavior specialist left partially paralyzed after his motorcycle hit wreckage left in the road by an 18-year-old drunk driver who had been served at Koozies Icehouse & Grill in New Braunfels. Todd A. Hunter of Hunter Trial Law tried the dram shop case with E. Chevo Pastrano and Ginna G. Pastrano of The Pastrano Law Firm. The award was reported as the largest verdict ever returned by a San Antonio jury, and the bar had already closed by the time it came in, so the family is not expected to collect most, if any, of it.

After trial: Koozies closed before trial and the family is not expected to collect most, if any, of the award; no appeal had been filed as of The Texas Lawbook's year-end report.

Jury Awards $779 Million to Widow of Security Guard Killed in Robbery at Havana, Florida Internet Cafe

Lewis Butler, a security guard, was shot eight times and killed in November 2023 during an armed robbery at an internet cafe in Havana, Florida. The cafe's operators had not reported a robbery three weeks earlier in which the gun used against him was stolen. In December 2025 a Gadsden County jury awarded his widow $779,389,024, including $550 million for pain and suffering and $225 million for loss of companionship.

After trial: We found no reported appeal or post-trial ruling. It is unclear whether the defendants carry liability insurance, and the family's lawyer said they would pursue garnishments and liens. See more

$411.69 Million Verdict for Refinery Worker, 25, Struck on the Head by a Dropped Scaffold Bar

Jose Valdivia, 25, was building scaffolding at the Phillips 66 refinery in Lake Charles when a co-worker above him lost his grip on a steel scaffold bar. It struck him on the head and spine through a hard hat and full protective equipment. He is in a wheelchair with limited speech. Brock never reported the accident to OSHA.

After trial: On appeal. The $411.69 million verdict is the largest single-plaintiff personal-injury verdict in Louisiana history as entered. See more

Federal Jury Returns $243 Million Verdict Against Tesla in First Autopilot Wrongful Death Trial

A Miami federal jury found Tesla 33% liable for a 2019 Key Largo crash that killed a 22-year-old woman and severely injured her boyfriend, awarding $243 million including $200 million in punitive damages in the first federal trial over a fatal Autopilot accident.

After trial: Judge Bloom denied Tesla's post-trial motion on February 20, 2026. Tesla appealed to the Eleventh Circuit (No. See more

Kline & Specter Wins Appeal Preserving Record $207.6 Million Birth Injury Judgment Against Penn Hospital

A Philadelphia jury found the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania liable for the brain injury a newborn suffered when staff delayed a cesarean section, a $182.7 million verdict that grew to a molded judgment of about $207.6 million, the largest medical malpractice award in Pennsylvania history. Kline & Specter argued and won the appeal, where the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the full $207.6 million judgment in July 2025.

After trial: The jury awarded $182,737,791, and the trial judge added about $24.9 million in Pennsylvania Rule 238 prejudgment interest, bringing the judgment to $207.6 million. Pennsylvania's Superior Court unanimously affirmed the full judgment on July 10, 2025.

Jury Awards $200 Million to Children of Slain Tampa-Area Doctor in Civil Murder Case Against His Wife

A Pinellas County civil jury found Rebecca Schwartz liable for the 2014 murder of her husband, kidney specialist Dr. Steven Schwartz, and awarded his three children $200 million in one of the largest wrongful death verdicts in Florida history.

After trial: The judgment is against an individual defendant; collection is doubtful.

Denver Jury Awards $145.26 Million to Brain-Injured Painter Over Workers' Comp Carrier's Denial of Rehab Care

A 20-year-old painter suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2021 ladder fall in Utah. A Denver jury found his workers' compensation carrier, NorGUARD Insurance, knowingly and unreasonably delayed and denied his care, including inpatient rehabilitation. It awarded $145.26 million, made up of $85.26 million in compensatory and $60 million in punitive damages.

After trial: NorGUARD has appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals (2025CA1304), where the award is under review. We found no ruling or reduction and could not confirm whether any of the judgment has been paid. See more

$117 Million Record Verdict for WTC Sheet Metal Worker With Mesothelioma From Asbestos Exposure

A New York County jury awarded $117 million to William Durbec and his wife Victoria in May 2025, the largest single-plaintiff asbestos verdict in New York State history, after Durbec developed pleural mesothelioma from asbestos-containing fireproofing he breathed during years of sheet metal work at the original World Trade Center.

After trial: As of mid-2026 reporting, post-trial proceedings before the trial judge remained ongoing, with no reduction, appeal ruling, or payment publicly confirmed. The jury put 80 percent of the fault on Mario and DiBono and 10 percent each on the Port Authority and Tishman, who were not at the verdict; New York's limits on noneconomic damages may reduce the judgment.

$205 Million Verdict After Girl, 6, Fell From Glenwood Caverns Ride

A Garfield County jury returned a $205 million verdict against Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and ride manufacturer Soaring Eagle after finding that operators launched the Haunted Mine Drop with a six-year-old girl sitting on top of an unsecured seatbelt, overriding a warning alarm that should have stopped the ride.

After trial: On March 11, 2026 the federal bankruptcy court lifted the automatic stay solely so Glenwood Caverns Holdings could appeal the state judgment; enforcement of the judgment stays on hold during the bankruptcy. We found no appellate ruling.

$115 Million Verdict Against Former Stepfather Who Sexually Abused a Girl From Age 6 Into Her Twenties

On September 16, 2025, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Joseph Ruffalo, an 85-year-old former music manager and 1980s film producer, liable for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against his former stepdaughter, A.Z., who testified that he abused her from 1991, when she was six, until 2007, when she was 22. The unanimous jury deliberated two hours and forty minutes and awarded $85 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. A.Z. had reported the abuse to police in the United States and Britain without result; Ruffalo was never charged. Her mother was a co-defendant and resolved the claims against her before trial. Ruffalo told the jury he could not pay.

After trial: The defendant testified at the punitive phase that he could not pay and had no assets to speak of. As of September 2026 no post-trial ruling or appeal has been reported, and entry of judgment and the status of post-trial motions are not confirmed.

$114 Million Verdict Against USAA for Bad-Faith Handling of Rear-End Crash Claim

A Clark County jury awarded Timothy Kuhn $114 million after USAA spent years stonewalling his claim from a 2018 rear-end collision it had originally conceded was not his fault.

After trial: USAA filed a notice of appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court in March 2025 challenging the judgment; as of the briefing schedule in January 2026 the appeal was still being briefed, with no ruling issued.

Austin Jury Awards $112.9 Million in Dram Shop Case Over Crash That Left a Six-Year-Old With a Brain Injury

A Travis County jury found a Wings 'N More restaurant liable for overserving a drunk driver who crashed into a family's car, awarding $112.9 million after a six-year-old girl suffered a traumatic brain injury, cardiac arrest, and the loss of vision in one eye.

$110 Million Verdict for an Infant Left With Skull Fractures at an Unlicensed Mena Daycare

On February 16, 2016 Daniel Ryals dropped his healthy 9-month-old son at Wendy Jo Strother's unlicensed in-home daycare in Mena, Arkansas. That afternoon Strother's daughter carried the baby into the local hospital with multiple skull fractures and bleeding in his brain. He is permanently blind and brain-damaged. Strother pleaded no contest to permitting child abuse and got probation. In November 2025 a Polk County jury awarded the family $110,000,000 plus $40,000 in punitive damages.

After trial: The jury returned $110.04 million on November 19, 2025. No post-trial motion, remittitur or appeal has been reported, and no insurance coverage or payment has been reported. See more

$104 Million Verdict Against Illinois Tollway for I-90 Construction Zone Crash That Left a Man Paralyzed

A Cook County jury found the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority negligent for a 2016 construction zone crash on I-90 that killed one limousine passenger and left Rob Rosá paralyzed from the neck down, awarding Rosá and his spouse just over $104 million on October 9, 2025.

After trial: The Tollway said it was reviewing the verdict; no post-trial ruling or appeal had been publicly reported as of late 2025.

$100 Million Verdict for Family of Former Florida Senator's Son Shot Dead in Negligently Secured Condo

A Miami-Dade jury awarded $100 million to former Florida state senator Daphne Campbell for the death of her son Jason, shot while sleeping at the Monte Carlo Condominium after an intruder walked in through failed security. Morgan & Morgan attorneys Thomas Hasty, Grant Gillenwater, Chuck Fernandez, and Patrick Chucri tried the negligent security case with co-counsel from Ver Ploeg & Marino.