Tort Trials and Verdicts, 1996
Highlights
* During 1996 an estimated 10,278 tort cases were decided by a
trial in the Nation's 75 largest counties. A jury decided about
85% of these tort trial cases, including nearly all (93%) of the
medical malpractice trials.
* Forty-two percent of tort trials involved a private
individual suing another individual. About 39% of tort claims
involved an individual suing a business.
* Plaintiffs won in 48% of tort trial cases. Plaintiffs were
more likely to win in tort trials decided by a judge (57%) than
a jury (48%). Plaintiffs won in 58% of automobile accident
trials, 57% of intentional tort trials, and 23% of medical
malpractice trials.
* The median final award to plaintiff winners in tort trials
during 1996 was about $31,000. Seventeen percent of final
awards exceeded $250,000 and 6% were $1 million or more.
* About 3% of plaintiff winners in tort trials were awarded
punitive damages. The median punitive damage award was $38,000.
Twenty-four percent of plaintiff winners were awarded punitive
damages when defendants acted with general or specific intent
(intentional tort).
* The median case processing time or tort cases from filing to
the verdict or final judgment was 22 months for jury trials and
19 months for bench trials.
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Tort claims comprised over 65% of the estimated 15,000 tort,
contract, and real property rights cases decided by a trial in
the Nation's 75 largest counties in 1996. In tort cases
plaintiffs allege injury, loss, or damage from negligent or
intentional acts of defendants. About 85% of the estimated
10,278 tort trials during 1996 were decided by a jury.
This Bulletin focuses on trials because the availability of
compensation data is generally limited to cases decided by
trial. When civil cases are settled, compensation amounts are
routinely not reported to the court. Award information,
particularly jury awards, have been a central focus of tort
reform.***Footnote 1: B. Ostrom, D. Rottman, and J. Goerdt,
"Step above Anecdote: A Profile of the Civil Jury in the
1990s," Judicature, 79(5), 1996, p. 233; Erik Moller, Trends
in Civil Jury Verdicts since 1985, RAND, MR-694-ICJ, 1996.***
This is the third in a series of reports based on the Civil
Justice Survey of State Courts, 1996, which collected sample
data about tort, contract, and real property rights cases
decided by a trial in State courts of general jurisdiction in
the Nation's 75 largest counties.***Footnote 2: Civil Trial Cases
and Verdicts in Large Counties, 1996 (NCJ 173426) and Contract
Trials and Verdicts in Large Counties, 1996 (NCJ 179451). These
BJS Bulletins are available on the internedt at http://www.ojp.
usdoj.gov/bjs/civil.htm.***
The sample of civil trial cases excluded civil cases that were
not tort, contract, or real property rights cases. Also
excluded were Federal trials, trials in counties outside the 75
largest, and trials in State courts of limited jurisdiction.
Types of torts trials
Automobile accident cases accounted for 49% of all tort trials
in courts of general jurisdiction during 1996 and premises
liability cases 22%. Approximately 12% of tort trials were
medical malpractice cases, and 6% were other negligence cases.
Type of trial verdict
Most tort trial cases were decided by a jury (85%) rather than a
judge (12%).***Footnote 3: The term verdict is used throughout the
report to refer to jury verdicts and judgments entered by a judge.
For size and verdict rule for civil trial juries in State courts of
general jurisdiction see State Court Organization, 1998
(NCJ 178932).*** Forty-seven State constitutions guarantee the right
to a jury trial in civil cases in State courts.*** Footnote 4: Paul
Mogin, "Why Judges, Not Juries, Should Set Punitive Damages," University
of Chicago Law Review, 65, 1998, p. 179.*** Similar to the Federal
rule (Fed. R. Civ. P. 38) most States require either the plaintiff or
the defendant to demand a jury trial, otherwise they forfeit the right
to a jury and the case is decided by a judge.
The frequency of jury verdicts varied by the kind of tort case.
Asbestos trial cases were most likely to be decided by a jury
verdict (99%), followed by medical malpractice cases (93%) and
automobile accident cases (89%).
Litigants
An estimated 37,561 litigants (plaintiffs and defendants) were
involved in the 10,278 tort trials in the Nation's 75 largest
counties during 1996. There were an estimated 15,600 plaintiffs
and 22,000 defendants. Thirty-eight percent of tort trials
involved one plaintiff and one defendant (not shown in a table).
The median number of plaintiffs and defendants differed little
by the type of tort case. Asbestos cases provided an exception
with a median of 18 defendants per case.
Litigant pairings
For each case data were collected on whether the plaintiff was
an individual, government, business, or hospital. Similar
information was collected for each defendant.
A typical tort trial case involved an individual suing another
individual (42%) or a business (39%). In relatively few tort
trial cases did an individual sue a government (7%) or a
hospital (8%).
A business, government, or hospital was the plaintiff in only
about 4% of tort trials during 1996. Nonindividual plaintiffs
were more common among bench tort trial cases than in tort jury
trials. Twelve percent of tort bench trials had a nonindividual
plaintiff, compared to 3% of tort jury trials (not shown in a
table.)
Automobile cases
Automobile accident torts, which comprised about half of all
tort trials, had a distinctive profile of litigant pairings.
The proportion of cases in which an individual sued another
individual was 61%. Most (89%) automobile accident tort trials
were decided by a jury.
Defective products in product
liability cases, 1996
* Of the estimated 359 product liability cases for which the
type of defective product was known, 52% dealt with asbestos or
other toxic chemicals.
* Cases involving defective vehicles such as automobiles,
motorcycles, or boats accounted for about 8% of tort trials.
* Defective construction, electrical, manufacturing, or other
equipment was involved in about 15% of tort trial cases in the
Nation's 75 largest counties during 1996.
* Punitive damages were awarded to plaintiff winners in 5 of
the 359 cases (not shown in a table).
Product liability trials
for which the type of
defective product
Type of defective was known/a
product Number Percent
Total 359 100 %
Toxic chemicals
Asbestos 183 51.0
Other chemicals 5 1.4
Medical/b 22 6.1
Equipment/c 55 15.4
Food
Restaurant food 3 0.8
Other foods 5 1.3
Home items and 32 9.0
appliances
Vehicles 29 8.2
Other products 26 7.3
Note: The estimated total number of
product liability cases is 421. See table 1,
asbestos and other product liability cases.
Of these, an estimated 359 have a known
type of product.
Detail may not sum to total due to rounding.
a/Number of cases include bench and
jury trials, trials with a directed verdict,
judgments notwithstanding the verdict,
and jury trials for defaulted defendants.
b/Includes nonprescription and prescrip-
tion drugs, cosmetics, breast and other
internal implants, and other medical
devices.
c/Includes construction, electrical,
manufacturing, and other equipment.
Businesses in tort trials
Businesses were plaintiffs in an estimated 374 tort trial
cases and defendants in an estimated 4,268 tort trials in
general jurisdiction courts in the Nation's 75 largest counties
during 1996.
The type of business involved in civil trial litigation
generally corresponded to the type of case. For example,
* Insurance companies were most likely to be involved in
automobile tort trial cases as either plaintiffs (67%) and/or
defendants (92%).
* Real estate development companies were most likely to be
defendants (72%) in premises liability trials.
* Manufacturers were most likely to be sued in product
liability (76%) tort trials.
* Banks were more likely (18%) than insurance companies,
construction companies, service sellers, or goods sellers to be
defendants in trials in which plaintiffs alleged that the tort
was committed with some general or specific intent (intentional
tort).
Plaintiff winners
Plaintiffs prevailed in about half of all tort trials in the
Nation's 75 largest counties during 1996.
Plaintiffs won more often in tort trials decided by a bench
verdict (57%) than by a jury verdict (48%).
The likelihood of a plaintiff winning varied among the
different kinds of torts. Plaintiffs were winners in more than
half of automobile accident (58%), intentional tort (57%), and
asbestos (56%) tort trials. Plaintiffs in other kinds of tort
trials fared less well. Plaintiffs were successful, for
example, in 23% of medical malpractice trials and 34% of trials
for slander or libel.
Plaintiffs experienced different out-comes depending on whether
the case was decided by a jury or bench trial. The rate of
plaintiff success was greater in bench trials than in jury
trials among premises liability, other product liability, and
medical malpractice cases.
Bodily injury claims by plaintiffs
in tort trials, 1996
* Plaintiffs in tort cases often claim bodily injury due to the
defendants' careless or reckless behavior. Plaintiffs seek
compensation for medical treatment, lost wages, and other forms
of monetary and emotional loss.
* In 1996 plaintiffs claimed bodily injury in 94% of tort cases
decided by a trial in general jurisdiction courts in the 75
largest counties. Plaintiffs claimed bodily injury in all
automobile accident, premises and product liability, and medical
malpractice trials.
* Bodily injury was claimed in 58% of intentional tort and 72%
of other negligence trials, while such claims were rare in
professional malpractice (12%) and slander/libel trials (3%).
Verdicts were in favor of the plaintiff in 52% of the premises
liability cases decided by a bench trial and in 38% of jury trials.
A similar difference is found between plaintiff win rates in bench
trials (70%) and in jury trials (31%) for other product liability
torts.
Medical and professional malpractice cases decided
by a trial in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1996
* Of the 1,021 malpractice trials for which the type of
defendant was known, 900 or 88% dealt with medical malpractice,
and 121 or 12% dealt with professional malpractice in the 75
largest counties during 1996.
* Overall, plaintiffs won more often in malpractice trials
brought against professional defendants (41%) such as attorneys,
than they did against medical professionals (26%) such as
doctors or dentists.
* The median award in medical malpractice trials ($318,000) was
higher than the median award in professional malpractice trials
($86,000) that generally do not entail personal injury. Median
award amounts were higher among plaintiffs who won malpractice
trials against medical doctors, both surgeons ($398,000) and
nonsurgeons ($390,000), than against dentists ($80,000) or
attorneys ($58,000).
* Plaintiff winners were awarded $1 million or more in about a
quarter of malpractice trials brought against surgeons. Such
high award amounts were rare, however, when plaintiffs won
against dentists, attorneys, or other professionals.
Final awards
Juries and judges awarded an estimated $2 billion dollars to
plaintiff winners in general jurisdiction courts in the Nation's
75 largest counties during 1996. The median award was an
estimated $31,000.
Final award amounts may include compensatory awards for economic
damages associated with actual financial losses, noneconomic
damages related to, for instance, emotional pain and suffering,
inconvenience, or mental anguish, and punitive damages which
are intended to punish defendants whose actions were grossly
negligent or intentional.***Footnote 5: Economic and
noneconomic damages cannot be distinguished in the data for
detailed analysis.***
Half of plaintiff winners received $18,000 or more in automobile
accident cases and about $22,000 in slander/libel cases.
The median final award of $30,000 in tort jury trials and
$34,000 in tort bench trials did not differ statistically.
Final damages of over $250,000 were awarded to 17% of plaintiff
winners of tort trials in the Nation's 75 largest counties
during 1996. About 6% of plaintiff winners were awarded over $1
million.
Awards of over $1 million were received by plaintiff winners in
24% of other product liability jury trials and 22% of medical
malpractice jury trials.
Punitive damage awards
Punitive damages were awarded in about 3% of tort trials with a
plaintiff winner in the Nation's 75 largest counties during
1996. About $463 million in punitive damages was awarded to
162 plaintiff winners in tort trials. The median punitive
damage award was $38,000.
Plaintiff winners were more likely to be awarded punitive
damages in bench (8%) than jury (3%) trials. While judges were
more likely to award punitive damages, the amounts they awarded
did not differ from those of juries.
The median punitive damage awards for tort jury trials ($27,000)
and for tort bench trials ($75,000) are not statistically
different.
Monetary awards and the role of
plaintiff negligence
A plaintiff's own negligence may play a part in causing the
plaintiff's injury. In six States (Alabama, Maryland, South
Carolina, Delaware, North Carolina, and Virginia)***Footnote 6:
American Jurisprudence, 2nd edition (1989, supp. 1995), 57B, pp.
1131-49.*** any negligence on the part of the plaintiff bars
recovery of any damages from defendants, referred to as contributory
negligence.***Footnote 7: Garner, Bryan A. (ed.), Black's Law
Dictionary, West Publishing Co., 1996.***
All other States, however, abide by some form of comparative
negligence, in which damages recoverable by the plaintiff are
proportionally reduced according to the level of the plaintiff's
negligence. For a description of the different types of
comparative negligence and how States are classified see Civil
Trial Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties, 1996 (NCJ 173426).
The largest punitive damage
awards in the 45 sampled counties
* The largest punitive damage amount of $138 million was
awarded by a jury to 22 individual plaintiff winners in a
negligence case against service seller defendants. The trial
lasted 21 days resulting in a final award amount of
$143,400,000 -- the largest in the sample.
* The largest punitive damage awarded in a bench verdict was $2
million to two plaintiff winners in a premises liability trial
involving a bodily injury claim against service seller
defendants. The case lasted over 5 years from filing to the
final judgment. The final award of $21,280,000 was awarded to
the plaintiff winners after a 1-day trial.
Compensatory damages awarded to plaintiff winners were reduced
in 16% of tort trials in general jurisdiction courts in the
Nation's 75 largest counties during 1996. These awards were
reduced by about 43%, on average.
Compensatory damage awards were reduced in 36% of premises
liability cases decided by a jury verdict. Compensatory award
amounts were not reduced in any of the slander/libel trials won
by plaintiffs. On average, monetary awards were reduced by
about 58% in asbestos cases, 45% in premises liability cases,
and 42% in automobile accident cases.
Reduced compensatory damages awarded to plaintiff winners were
more common among jury than bench tort trials in the Nation's 75
largest counties during 1996. Among tort jury trials alone,
about 18% of awards to plaintiff winners were reduced by 43% on
average. About 3% of damages awarded to plaintiff winners in
bench trials were reduced by an average of 32%.
Case processing time
Half of the 10,047 jury and bench tort trial cases for which
case processing time is known went from filing of the complaint
to verdict or final judgment in an estimated 21.9 months or more.
Among bench trials, the median time to disposition was 18.6
months, compared to a median of 22.2 months among jury trials.
Half of the intentional tort trials decided by a jury went from
filing of the complaint to verdict in 22.0 months or more
compared to 16.4 months when decided by a judge.
Fifty-five percent of tort jury trials were decided in less than
2 years compared to 65% of tort bench trials. Thirteen percent
of tort jury trials took 4 years or more. Asbestos jury trials,
in particular, tended to take somewhat longer. Of the 175
asbestos jury trials, 54% lasted 4 years or more from filing of
the complaint to the verdict.
Trial length
Bench trial proceedings tended to be concluded in less time than
jury trials. Except for professional malpractice trials, the
median bench trial began and ended on the same day (not shown in
a table).
The median length of jury trials was 3 days overall (not shown
in a table). Half of asbestos jury trials lasted nearly 2 weeks
or more (a median of 11 days). Half of medical malpractice and
professional malpractice trials lasted 6 days or more.
The longest case processing time
in the 45 sampled counties
The longest case in the sample was an automobile accident case
with a bodily injury claim filed by two individual plaintiffs
against four business defendants. The case took about 15 years
from filing of the complaint to the final jury verdict. The
trial lasted 11 days. The plaintiffs won $115,275 in compensatory
damages. No punitive damages were awarded.
Tort jury trials in 1992
* The number of tort cases decided by jury verdict in State
courts of general jurisdiction in the 75 largest counties did
not differ significantly from 1992 (9,431) to 1996 (8,768).
* Overall, plaintiffs were no more likely to win tort jury
trials in 1996 (48%) than they were in 1992 (50%). They were
less successful, however, in malpractice trials decided by a
jury. Plaintiffs won 23% of medical malpractice jury trials in
1996, down from 30% in 1992. Similarly, they won 36% of
professional malpractice jury trials in 1996, down from 53% in
1992.
* Half of plaintiff winners in tort jury trials won $30,000 or
more during 1996 compared to $57,000 during 1992. This decline
is due, in part, to smaller median amounts awarded by juries to
plaintiff winners in automobile accident trials.
Number of
jury trials Percent Final awards to plaintiff winners
which the wi plaintiff Number Median Percent over
Case type ner was know winners/a of cases (thousands $1 million
All jury tort
trials 9,377 50.3% 4,574 $57 8.3%
Automobile 3,880 60.4% 2,280 $33 4.4%
Premises liability 1,944 44.5 841 65 6.1
Product liability/b 637 55.7 342 124 15.6
Intentional tort 435 46.6 195 58 6.6
Medical malpractice 1,354 30.5 403 225 24.8
Professional malpractice 176 53.4 92 174 16.7
Slander/libel 66 41.6 27 28 13.9
Other negligence 885 46.9 393 72 11.1
Note: The number of trials excludes cases with a directed verdict
and cases in which the trial winner was not known. Data on jury
trial winners and final award amounts were available for 96.6% of
sampled jury tort trials. The 1992 final award amounts are adjusted for
inflation and presented in 1996 dollars. Final award amounts include both
compensatory and punitive damages. In this study, cases are classified
by the primary case type, though many cases have multiple claims
(contract and tort). Under laws in almost all States, only tort claims
qualify for punitive damages. If a contract or real property case involved
punitive damages, it involved a related tort claim. For additional
information, see Tort Cases in Large Counties,
1992 (NCJ 153177).
a/Excludes cases with a directed verdict, cases in which the plaintiff and
defendant won damages and cases in which the plaintiff won the liability
trial.
b/Includes asbestos, breast implant, and other product liability trials.
Data source: Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992 (ICPSR 6587).
Data can be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice
Data (NACJD):
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/home.html
Tort cases in U.S. district courts, 1996
* Of the 250,387 civil cases terminated in U.S. district
courts*(U.S. district courts exercise jurisdiction in civil
actions between private parties arising from the interpretation
and application of the U.S. Constitution, acts of congress, or
treaties, actions between residents of different States, and
cases where the U.S. Government is the plaintiff or defendant).
during fiscal year 1996, 20% (49,063) were tort claims. About
3% (1,507) of these tort claims were terminated by a jury
or bench trial.
* A jury decided tort trials less often in U.S. district courts
(73%) than they did in State general jurisdiction courts in the
75 largest counties during 1996 (85%).
* Plaintiffs won just under half of tort trials in both U.S.
district courts (45%) and State general jurisdiction courts in
the 75 largest counties (48%). Plaintiff winners, however, were
awarded less monetary damages in the State courts, with a median
of $32,000, compared to the median of $132,500 awarded to
plaintiff winners of tort trials decided in U.S. district courts
during 1996.
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Civil Master
File, 1996. See also Federal Tort Trials and Verdicts, 1996-97,
BJS Bulletin, NCJ 172855, February 1999.
Tort reform in the States
Data from general jurisdiction courts in 16 States for which
information was available indicate that tort filings rose 43%
between 1975 and 1998. Most of this increase occurred between
1975 and 1986.***Footnote 1: B. Ostrom and N. Kauder, Examining
the Work of State Courts, 1998: A National Perspective from the
Court Statistics Project, National Center for State Courts,
Williamsburg, VA, 1999.*** To deal with this increase, most
States enacted some sort of tort reform to discourage litigation.
The long-term impact of these reforms on reducing tort caseloads has
been mixed.***Footnote 2: Thomas B. Marvell, "Tort Caseload Trends
and the Impact of Tort Reforms," The Justice System Journal, 17,
1994, pp. 193-206.*** Most tort reform in the States falls into the
following issue areas:
Joint and several liability
The most common reform, enacted in 33 States, has sought to make
each defendant in a tort lawsuit responsible for the damages
caused by his or her own negligence (proportionate liability).
In about a third of the States, however, each defendant in a
tort lawsuit is liable for the entire amount of the plaintiff's
damages regardless of a defendant's degree of fault (joint and
several liability).
Punitive damages
Punitive damage reforms have been enacted in 30 States. Reforms
include placing caps on the amount of punitive damages that can
be awarded, requiring clear and convincing evidence to establish
punitive damage liability, and making punitive damages
proportional to the type of offense alleged.
Collateral sources
In 21 States tort reforms have been enacted that allow
defendants to admit into court evidence that a plaintiff has
received damages from an independent source, such as an
insurance policy, wages or medical services, or worker's
compensation. In more than half the States, however, defendants
are prohibited from introducing evidence of outside benefits
received by plaintiffs.
Pre-judgment interest
In 11 States tort reforms have been enacted to either limit or
prohibit plaintiffs from receiving compensation for the time lag
between the tort action or filing of the lawsuit and the actual
payment of damages. Most States, however, allow such
pre-judgment interest, intending to encourage early settlements
and reduce congestion in the courts.
Noneconomic damages
Seven States have enacted reforms that limit awards to
plaintiffs for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering or
emotional distress. The amount of these caps and how they are
applied vary across these States. Maryland, for example, caps
noneconomic damages at $500,000, while Kansas has a cap of
$250,000 for pain and suffering only.
Methodology
Definitions of disposition types:
Jury trial -- A trial held before and decided by a group of
laypersons selected according to the law presided over by a
judge culminating in a verdict for the plaintiff(s) and/or
defendant(s).
Bench trial (non jury trial) -- A trial held in the absence of a
jury and decided by a judge culminating in a judgment for the
plaintiff(s) or defendant(s).
Directed verdict -- In a case in which the party with the burden
of proof has failed to present a prima facie case for jury
consideration, a trial judge may order the entry of a verdict
without allowing the jury to consider it, because, as a matter
of law, there can be only one such verdict.
Judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV" or judgment non
obstante veredicto) -- A judgment rendered in favor of one party
despite the finding of a jury verdict in favor of the other
party.
Jury trials for defaulted defendants -- Some States make
provisions for a jury to be empaneled even if the defendants in
a case fail to appear and enter a defense. The purpose of a
trial is to decide issues such as amount of damages. See
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 1.500, section (e).
Definitions of civil case types:
Torts -- Claims arising from personal injury or property damage
caused by negligent or intentional acts of another person or
business. Specific tort case types include: automobile
accident; premises liability (injury caused by the dangerous
condition of residential or commercial property); medical
malpractice (by doctor, dentist, or medical professional); other
professional malpractice (for example by lawyers, engineers,
architects); product liability (injury or damage caused by
defective products; injury caused by toxic substances such as
asbestos); libel/slander (injury to reputation); intentional
tort (vandalism, intentional personal injury); and other
negligent acts (negligence against another party for an act not
represented by the other case categories used in this study such
as the negligent supervision of a dog resulting in an attack).
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