Top Wrongful Death Verdicts and Settlements

Fayette County Jury Awards $150.37 Billion After Fatal Gasoline Attack on an 8-Year-Old

In December 2011, a Fayette County, Texas jury awarded the family of an 8-year-old Splendora boy $150.37 billion after he was doused with gasoline and set on fire by a 13-year-old neighbor in 1998, two weeks after the same neighbor sexually assaulted him. The boy survived third-degree burns over 99 percent of his body for nearly 13 years before dying in April 2011 of a skin cancer linked to his injuries. The defendant, Don Wilburn Collins, never appeared to answer the civil suit, and the jury awarded $370 million in actual damages plus roughly $150 billion in punitive damages, the largest civil verdict in U.S. history. Attorney Craig Sico, who represented the family, said from the outset that the judgment was not collectible and was intended to pressure prosecutors into reopening the long-dormant criminal case. Prosecutors did reopen the case, and Collins was later convicted of capital murder in a separate criminal proceeding.

After trial: No appeal was filed in the civil case. Collins had no assets, and the family's attorney said publicly that the judgment was symbolic and would not be paid.

PG&E Wildfire Bankruptcy: $13.5 Billion Settlement for Northern California Fire Victims

Frantz Law Group, representing roughly 5,000 victims, helped negotiate a $13.5 billion PG&E bankruptcy settlement covering tens of thousands of survivors and families from the 2015 Butte, 2017 North Bay, and 2018 Camp wildfires.

$4.037 Billion Settlement for Maui Wildfire Victims

Leavitt, Yamane and Soldner represented Maui wildfire survivors and victims' families in the $4.037 billion global settlement resolving approximately 450 lawsuits arising from the August 2023 Lahaina fire.

After trial: Global, multi-firm.

$1.1 Billion Verdict Over Nursing Home Resident's 17 Falls, Never Paid by Insolvent Defendants

A Polk County jury awarded $110 million in compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages over the death of 69-year-old Arlene Townsend, who fell 17 times at the Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center, in a Wilkes & McHugh case against Trans Healthcare entities that had defaulted, stopped defending, and were already insolvent and in receivership, which is why the judgment was largely symbolic and the estate ultimately recovered only a small share of a later multi-estate settlement.

After trial: Default judgment against insolvent, receivership-bound defendants; never paid. The estate later shared a $23.7M six-estate bankruptcy settlement.

Champlain Towers Collapse: $1.021 Billion for 98 Victims in Under a Year

The families of 98 people killed in the June 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida, recovered over $1 billion through a class settlement run by a court-appointed Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, with final approval reached in under a year.

After trial: Court-approved settlement fund for the 98 wrongful death claims from the collapse; with property claims the full program totaled about $1.2 billion.

NFL Concussion MDL: Anapol Weiss Serves as Co-Lead Class Counsel in ~$1 Billion Settlement for Retired Players

Sol Weiss and Larry Coben of Anapol Weiss served as co-lead class counsel in the landmark NFL concussion multidistrict litigation, securing a settlement valued at nearly $1 billion for thousands of retired players diagnosed with serious neurological conditions.

Maddux Family Wins $907 Million Wrongful Death Judgment Against Fugitive Ira Einhorn

In July 1999, a Philadelphia jury awarded $907 million against Ira Einhorn for the 1977 killing of his girlfriend, Helen 'Holly' Maddux, in a civil wrongful death and survival action filed by her family. Einhorn was a fugitive living in France at the time and sent no attorney, so the court directed a verdict for the family on liability and left the six-member jury to decide damages alone. The jury deliberated a little over an hour before returning $752 million in punitive damages and $155 million in compensatory damages. Firm founder James E. Beasley represented the Maddux family. The suit was never intended to collect money from a fugitive with no assets; it was filed to stop Einhorn from profiting off book or movie deals about the case.

After trial: Judgment entered after the defendant, a fugitive in France, presented no defense, with the jury deciding damages only. No post-trial motion or appeal has been reported. See more

Chapecoense Soccer Team Crash: $844 Million in Judgments for 43 Families

Steven Marks and Kristina Infante of Podhurst Orseck secured a combined $844 million in wrongful-death judgments for 43 families of passengers killed when LaMia Flight 2933 crashed near Medellin, Colombia, in November 2016, killing 71 of the 77 people aboard.

After trial: Combined judgments and settlements for the families of 43 victims of a single crash, not one plaintiff's award.

$812 Million Verdict for Family of Worker Killed in Pecos Chemical Plant Explosion, Part of $1.6 Billion

A Starr County jury unanimously awarded more than $1.6 billion combined to the families of two workers killed in a 2023 explosion at the Pecos Liquids Handling Facility, with $812 million going to the Garcia Peña family and roughly $809 million to the Alaffa family, finding owner Upton Assets, LLC grossly negligent, though the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy about two weeks before the verdict and collection remains uncertain.

After trial: Upton Assets filed Chapter 11 on April 6, 2026, two weeks before the verdict. Recovery runs through the bankruptcy claims process and Texas punitive damages caps.

$800 Million Settlement for Route 91 Harvest Shooting Victims Against MGM Resorts

An $800 million settlement from MGM Resorts International resolved claims by more than 4,400 plaintiffs over the October 1, 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas, one of the largest victim-compensation settlements in U.S. history.

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

$745 Million Verdict Against Nitrous Oxide Distributor and Head Shop After Crash Killed a 25-Year-Old

A St. Louis County jury returned a $745 million verdict against nitrous oxide distributor United Brands and local head shop Coughing Cardinal after finding the companies conspired to sell Whip-It! canisters as an inhalant to a driver who passed out behind the wheel and fatally struck 25-year-old Marissa Politte outside her workplace.

After trial: The verdict was not overturned. The companies settled after the verdict for $5 million, as reported by the St. See more

$550 Million Wrongful-Death Verdict After Driver Hit 107 mph on Drugs and Alcohol

A Clark County jury awarded $550 million, $50 million compensatory and $500 million punitive, to Nimfa Escobia after her husband Marcial was killed by a driver traveling 107 mph while impaired by alcohol, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana.

After trial: Nevada caps punitive damages at three times compensatory damages, which exposes the $500 million punitive portion of this verdict to reduction toward roughly $150 million if that cap is applied on appeal; no appellate ruling has been reported yet. The verdict is against an individual driver, Kevin Raspperry, whose insurer had already paid policy limits to the vehicle's owner rather than to him, so the judgment against him personally is largely uncollectable.

$860 Million Verdict in Dallas Crane Collapse Death, Entered as $360 Million Judgment After Exemplary Cap

A Dallas County jury found developer Greystar liable for the 2019 tower crane collapse that killed 29-year-old Kiersten Smith in her apartment, returning an $860 million verdict that Jason and Cory Itkin helped win for her family. The trial court cut the $500 million exemplary award under the Texas statutory cap before signing judgment in August 2023, entering $360,012,006 in compensatory damages jointly and severally against the three Greystar entities plus prejudgment interest, and Greystar's appeal, argued in February 2026, is undecided.

After trial: Reduced and on appeal. The $500,000,000 exemplary award was cut under the Texas cap before judgment in August 2023, leaving $360,012,006 in compensatory damages plus about $45,000,000 in prejudgment interest. See more

Hernando County Jury Awards $330 Million in DUI Wrongful Death of 13-Year-Old

A Hernando County jury returned a $330 million verdict for Angela Stone after a drunk driver ran a stop sign and fatally struck a minivan carrying her 13-year-old daughter.

After trial: The verdict is against an individual drunk driver and is largely uncollectable.

$310 Million Verdict Over Teen's Fatal Orlando FreeFall Ride Fall, Manufacturer Never Appeared

An Orange County jury awarded $310 million to the parents of Tyre Sampson, the 14-year-old who fell to his death from the Orlando FreeFall drop tower at ICON Park in 2022, in a case tried by Kimberly Wald and Michael Haggard against ride manufacturer Funtime Handels GmbH, which sent no lawyer or representative to the trial, leaving collection of the judgment from the absent Austrian company uncertain.

After trial: Uncontested verdict against an absent Austrian manufacturer; collection uncertain; the family's compensation came from prior settlements.

Alaska Airlines Flight 261: Confidential Settlements for 18 Families in $300 Million-Plus Litigation

Jamie Lebovitz served on the federal MDL Plaintiff's Steering Committee for the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 disaster, representing 18 families in confidential individual settlements as part of a broader litigation that recovered more than $300 million for surviving relatives of the 88 people killed.

$296 Million Verdict Against Koch Industries for Butane Pipeline Deaths in Kaufman County

A Kaufman County jury awarded $296 million in compensatory damages against Koch Industries after a corroded, unmaintained butane pipeline exploded and killed two teenagers on August 24, 1996.

After trial: Koch settled confidentially before the punitive damages phase went to the jury.

$272.5 Million for the Victims of the Tribeca Crane Collapse

A 565-foot crawler crane toppled across a Tribeca street in 2016, killing a young mathematician; the case settled for $272.5 million.

The Amtrak 188 Derailment and the $265 Million Fund for Its Victims

After Amtrak Train 188 derailed in Philadelphia in May 2015, killing eight and injuring more than 200, Kline & Specter's Thomas R. Kline led the plaintiffs' negotiations that produced a $265 million settlement fund for the victims.