Top Individual Connecticut Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

$58.6 Million Verdict Over a Delayed C-Section That Left a Norwalk Boy With Severe Cerebral Palsy

A Waterbury jury awarded Dominic and Cathy D'Attilo and their son Daniel $58.6 million after finding that obstetrician Richard Viscarello delayed a necessary cesarean section during Daniel's birth, depriving him of oxygen and leaving him with severe cerebral palsy.

After trial: No appeal of the verdict was found in public reporting; press accounts describe it as the largest medical malpractice verdict in Connecticut history at the time it was returned.

$52.3 Million Cigarette Design Verdict Survives Eight Years of Appeals and a Post-Trial Recalculation

A federal jury found that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company had defectively designed Salem cigarettes and awarded Barbara Izzarelli nearly $8 million; punitive damages and years of accruing interest, upheld on appeal and left standing when the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, eventually brought the total to $52.3 million.

After trial: The Second Circuit affirmed the verdict in 2017 after certifying a question of state law to the Connecticut Supreme Court; the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in February 2018. See more

$49 Million Verdict for Cervical Cancer Missed After Years of High-Risk HPV Results Without Colposcopy

Jennifer Anderson tested positive for high-risk HPV at annual visits with her gynecologist over several years, and no colposcopy was ever performed. By the time her cervical cancer was found in 2019 it had spread to her chest, abdomen, and pelvis. A Stamford jury awarded her $39 million and her husband $10 million.

After trial: Westmed, a subsidiary of Summit Health and VillageMD, has said it intends to appeal. The appeal is unresolved, so the $49 million is the jury's verdict rather than a collected judgment.

$45 Million New Haven Settlement for Randy Cox, Paralyzed in a Police Van, a Record Police Payout

Ben Crump, with Connecticut co-counsel Louis Rubano and R.J. Weber, secured a $45 million settlement from the City of New Haven for Richard "Randy" Cox, who was left paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown headfirst into the wall of a police transport van while handcuffed. At announcement it was described as the largest settlement ever reached in a U.S. police-misconduct case, surpassing the George Floyd settlement.

$41.7 Million Verdict for Student Unable to Speak After Tick-Borne Encephalitis on School Trip to China

A federal jury awarded Cara Munn $41.7 million after she contracted tick-borne encephalitis on a school-sponsored trip to China and lost the ability to speak, and the Connecticut Supreme Court later held that schools can owe students a duty to warn about and protect against insect-borne disease on trips abroad.

After trial: Hotchkiss appealed to the Second Circuit, which certified two questions to the Connecticut Supreme Court. In August 2017 the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled against Hotchkiss on both the duty question and remittitur, and the verdict was affirmed as final.

$40.5 Million Verdict for Motorcyclist Paralyzed When Tow Truck Blocked View Out of a Waterbury-Area Lot

A Waterbury jury awarded Don Zemo IV $45 million after finding that a tow truck illegally parked outside MyHoopty.com's Oakville lot blocked the sightline for a car pulling out, causing a collision that left him permanently paralyzed.

After trial: The jury awarded $45 million and put 10 percent of the fault on Zemo, 65 percent on MyHoopty.com and 25 percent on the driver of the SUV, so the judgments total $40.5 million. Connecticut liability is several, and the court later found the SUV driver's share uncollectible and moved about $8 million of it onto MyHoopty.com. See more

$40 Million Settlement After 6-Year-Old Drowned in Backyard Pool Drain Built Without Safety Devices

On July 26, 2007, a 6-year-old boy drowned in his family's backyard pool in Greenwich when his arm was sucked into a wall drain feeding a spillover spa. Connecticut had required dual drains and a vacuum-release device since 2004, a year before the pool was permitted, and the builder had installed neither. The pool company's president pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in 2011, the first such prosecution of a pool builder in the country. By May 2013 the parents, Brian and Karen Cohn, had settled with all nine defendants for a combined $40 million, all of it directed to the water-safety foundation they created in their son's name.

After trial: The $40 million is the sum of five separately negotiated settlements with nine defendants, completed by May 2013, including $10 million from the Town of Greenwich. The proceeds went to the family's foundation.

$38.5 Million for a Twin Left With Cerebral Palsy After a 25-Minute Delay in an Emergency Cesarean

Elizabeth Oram delivered twins at Stamford Hospital on April 4, 2003. The first was born healthy at 3:11 a.m. Two minutes later the second twin showed fetal distress from a compressed umbilical cord, but the cesarean was not completed until 3:38 a.m. The boy was born with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy. After a seven-week trial, a Stamford jury found obstetrician Dr. Corinne de Cholnoky liable in February 2008 and awarded $38.5 million, then the largest medical malpractice verdict in Connecticut.

After trial: Post-trial motions to set aside the verdict were denied and interest was added to the $38.5 million. An appeal was docketed in the Connecticut Supreme Court for argument in December 2011, but no decision has been reported, and the firm's statement that the verdict was upheld is unconfirmed. See more

$30.4 Million After a Delayed C-Section Left a First-Time Mother Unable to Have More Children

Elizabeth Tigani was 32 when she was admitted to deliver her first child. After nearly a day of labor she had a cesarean section that, her lawyers argued, was both ordered too late and performed negligently, permanently injuring her bladder and uterus. A Stamford jury awarded $30.4 million after an eight-year fight.

After trial: The jury returned $30.4 million on October 11, 2024, after an eight-year defense of the case. Silver Golub and Teitell has said prejudgment interest could bring the total to roughly $68 million, but that is the firm's own projection and no independent source confirms a judgment entered at that figure.

$28.6 Million Verdict Against a Husband for a Brutal Assault on His Former Wife

A jury in the Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District awarded Mary Margaret Farren $28.6 million after finding that her former husband, David Farren, attacked her with a hammer and a knife during their divorce proceedings, leaving her with severe and permanent injuries.

After trial: The Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed the verdict, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in October 2016, making the judgment final. See more

Connecticut Jury and Judge Award $25 Million to Mesothelioma Patient in Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Case

Evan Plotkin of Somers, Connecticut, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2021 and sued Johnson & Johnson, alleging decades of exposure to asbestos in its Baby Powder. A Bridgeport jury awarded $15 million in compensatory damages on October 15, 2024, and found the company's conduct warranted punitive damages. On October 1, 2025, the trial judge added $10 million in punitive damages, for a total of $25 million. Johnson & Johnson has appealed.

After trial: The jury awarded $15 million in compensatory damages in October 2024, and the judge added $10 million in punitive damages on October 1, 2025. Johnson & Johnson has appealed, and we found no appellate decision. See more

$23 Million Verdict After a School Bus Carrying Disabled Students Struck a Tree in Wolcott

A Waterbury jury awarded $23.05 million to a Wolcott boy who suffered permanent traumatic brain damage when the school bus he was riding, carrying students with disabilities, struck a tree after its driver swerved to avoid an oncoming car.

After trial: No appeal was found in public reporting reviewed for this summary; the $23.05 million figure reflects the jury's verdict as returned.

$21.75 Million Judgment Against Yeshiva Rabbi and School for Sexual Abuse of a Student From Age 14 to 17

E.M. was a boarding student at the Yeshiva of New Haven from 2001 to 2005, and from age 14 to 17 the school's rabbi and chief administrator, Daniel Greer, sexually abused him on a frequent, sometimes weekly basis. In May 2017 a federal jury in Connecticut awarded E.M. $15 million against Greer and the school, and on June 6, 2017 the court entered a $21,749,041.10 judgment after adding $5 million in punitive damages and $1.75 million in offer-of-compromise interest. The Second Circuit affirmed in full on March 3, 2020, rejecting the argument that the award was excessive. Greer was separately convicted and sent to prison; by 2021 less than $240,000 of the judgment had been collected, and E.M.'s collection suits against Greer's real-estate nonprofits were resolved privately in 2024.

After trial: Affirmed in full by the Second Circuit on March 3, 2020 and final. Collection is the open question: Greer was imprisoned in December 2019 and less than $240,000 had been collected by late 2021, and suits against his nonprofits were resolved by private agreement in April 2024 after they borrowed $12.25 million. See more

$18.75 Million for the Family of a Stamford Woman Killed by a ShopRite Truck That Ran a Red Light

Cristina Vomoca, 38, died eight days after a ShopRite tractor-trailer ran a red light in Greenwich and struck her car in 2016. Food Haulers Inc. and its parent Wakefern Food Corp. settled with her estate for $18.75 million in August 2019, roughly a day after a Stamford jury had already been handed the case.

After trial: The case settled during jury deliberations, about a day after the case was handed to the jury at the end of a two-week trial, so no verdict was ever returned and there was nothing to appeal. The reported figure was more than double the pre-trial offer.

$15.4 Million Verdict After Anesthesia Team Failed to Recognize Patient Was Crashing in Routine Endoscopy

A New Haven jury awarded the estate of Maria Ocasio $15.4 million after finding that an anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist from Meriden-Wallingford Anesthesia Group failed to recognize and respond to her respiratory collapse during a routine outpatient endoscopy, leading to her death.

After trial: No appeal has been reported in public sources reviewed for this summary; the $15.4 million figure reflects the jury's verdict.

$12 Million Verdict Over a Perforated Colon During Hernia Surgery

A Danbury jury awarded Vivian Gagliano and her husband roughly $12 million after her colon was perforated during hernia repair surgery at Danbury Hospital, and the Connecticut Supreme Court later affirmed the verdict, holding Danbury Hospital vicariously liable for the surgical resident who performed the procedure.

After trial: The verdict was affirmed by the Connecticut Supreme Court on August 10, 2018 (SC 19804) and is fully final. The trial itself took place in May 2014; some secondary sources round the year to 2015, but May 2014 is the date sourced here.

$9.28 Million Verdict After Six Overdoses of a Blood Thinner Left Patient in a Wheelchair for Life

Barbara Lathan, a 65-year-old from the Southport section of Fairfield, Connecticut, walked into Bridgeport Hospital on October 3, 2007 to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Staff overdosed her six times with the blood thinner Lovenox; she bled into her abdomen, went into cardiac arrest, was revived and underwent emergency surgery, then contracted MRSA through a central line in her neck, developed an orange-sized abscess and lost part of her shoulder bone to further surgery. She left 75 days later in a hospital bed and never walked again. In October 2013 a Bridgeport jury deliberated about 90 minutes and awarded her $9,279,884.95, and Bridgeport Hospital's owner publicly apologized to her.

After trial: The hospital moved to set the verdict aside and was told to file written post-trial motions, and no appellate decision or reduction has been reported. The hospital is owned by Yale New Haven Health, which apologized publicly after the verdict. See more

$9 Million Verdict After Imaging Table Collapsed Under Patient Who Had Asked Whether It Would Hold Him

James Griswold, 58, asked the staff at Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists whether their imaging table could hold his 340-pound frame before a nuclear stress test on July 1, 2014. He was told bigger people had used it. The head of the table then dropped to the floor with a loud pop, and the spinal injuries that followed led to three surgeries, a blood clot, a stroke and a brain abscess that left him unable to walk unaided. A Waterbury jury awarded him and his wife $9 million on April 5, 2024, and the court added $5.4 million in interest. The defendants have appealed.

After trial: On appeal. The jury's $9 million verdict was entered April 5, 2024, and the trial court added about $5.4 million in offer-of-compromise interest, for a judgment of roughly $14.4 million. See more

$9 Million Settlement, Connecticut's Largest to One Person, for Videotaped Abuse at Forensic Hospital

W.S., a profoundly mentally ill man committed to Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown, Connecticut since 1995, was kicked, hit, doused with liquids, pelted with food, made to wear a diaper on his head and sexually humiliated by the nurses and aides paid to care for him. Hospital cameras captured more than 50 incidents in 24 days in early 2017. Nearly 40 employees were fired, ten were arrested, nine were convicted and eight went to prison. His brother and conservator sued the state in 2018, and in June 2022, after the legislature signed off, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis approved a $9 million settlement that his lawyer said was the largest the state had ever paid a single person. The state also waived more than $8 million in custody charges and agreed to keep him under constant video monitoring.

After trial: The $9,000,000 was approved by the legislature's Judiciary Committee in April 2022 and by Judge Barbara Bellis on June 28, 2022, and is paid by the State of Connecticut. The settlement also waived more than $8,000,000 in state custody charges and imposed ongoing video monitoring. See more

$7.73 Million Verdict for Death of New Haven Physician, 51, Whose Post-Surgical Infection Went Untreated

Dr. Jacqueline Satchell, a 51-year-old primary care physician and Yale clinical assistant professor who had cared for New Haven patients for two decades, was admitted to Yale New Haven Hospital's Saint Raphael campus in October 2020 with a perforated bowel. Surgeons removed part of her infected intestine, but over the following days her estate said the signs of a worsening infection and organ dysfunction were overlooked, no specialist consultations or second operation were pursued, and by the time doctors acted she was too sick to save. She died on October 7, 2020. On June 10, 2026, after a multi-week trial, a New Haven jury awarded her estate $7,730,000 against Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale University. Yale said it was disappointed and would evaluate its appellate options.

After trial: The verdict was returned on June 10, 2026. Yale New Haven Health said it would evaluate its appellate options. See more