Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2013

In this issue, Virginia Lawyers Weekly presents its compilation of “Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2013.”

Eighteen qualifying verdicts were reported to Virginia Lawyers Weekly in 2013. This number is slightly down from the 2012 compilation, where 20 cases made the list.

For inclusion in the survey, a verdict must have been for $1,000,000 or more, and it must have been returned by a jury, not a judge, in a Virginia court during calendar year 2013.

The complete list is available here: Virginia’s Largest Verdicts of 2013.

The largest verdict on the 2013 list is a medical malpractice case out of Hampton. A jury awarded $25 million to a man who suffered a massive heart attack after a cardiologist failed to detect an artery blockage. The case appears to hold the record for the largest medical malpractice award in a Virginia state court.

A products liability claim against an auto manufacturer netted a verdict of more than $14 million in Pulaski County. The only other eight-figure verdict reported in 2013 was an $11.25 million win in a slip-and-fall case out of Stafford County. Both cases also set records in their jurisdictions.

Only two federal cases were listed among this year’s top verdicts. Both cases involved contract disputes. No single state jurisdiction boasted the most million-dollar jury verdicts in 2013, although Norfolk, Fairfax and Richmond each claimed two of the top cases.

Five of the 18 cases were medical malpractice actions. Two cases involved retail store slip-and-falls and another two involved allegations of legal malpractice. Four cases stemmed from auto accidents, two of which involved pedestrians. There was only one wrongful death claim.

We compiled this list throughout the year and made a final appeal in December for qualifying verdicts. If you have a verdict that should be included, please let us know; we will include it in the online version of the 2013 survey.