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Nuclear verdict awards jumped 40.7% in 2025 to $25.6 billion
Marathon Strategies identified nearly 200 nuclear verdicts in 2025, including four above $1 billion, and said insurers saw five such verdicts totaling $390 million.
So-called nuclear verdicts, defined as jury awards of at least $10 million, rose sharply in 2025, according to a report from Marathon Strategies reviewed by Insurance Journal. The firm said nearly 200 verdicts reached that threshold in 2025, bringing the year’s total to about $25.6 billion, a 40.7% increase versus 2024, which Marathon called its highest level since 2009.
The report also pointed to larger outlier outcomes. Marathon said 40 cases hit “thermonuclear” levels, meaning verdicts of $100 million or more, and four verdicts exceeded $1 billion.
Marathon cited multiple drivers behind the increase, including corporate mistrust, social pessimism, erosion of tort reform, and public desensitization to large numbers, and it said more Millennials and Gen Z jurors are showing up. The firm added that eight states enacted tort reform laws in 2025, including measures such as caps and increased disclosure for third-party litigation funders.
The report also flagged evolving risk areas that could expand liability exposure, including PFAS, AI liability, deepfakes, and climate attribution. Insurance had five nuclear verdicts in 2025 totaling $390 million, and product liability cases accounted for 29 nuclear verdicts totaling $12 billion.