From VerdictSearch National

Police officer hurt en route to robbery awarded $31 million

A jury awarded $31 million to a police officer who sustained line-of-duty injuries in a motor-vehicle accident. The mammoth award's recipient was Niurka Andino, who claimed that she sustained career-ending injuries of her back, head and knees in a broadside accident while she and another police officer were responding to a robbery on Aug. 18, 2004. Andino sued the other motorist, alleging that the driver failed to yield to a police vehicle that was proceeding through a red traffic signal during an emergency situation. The other motorist contended that the police vehicle was not responding to an emergency and that its siren and emergency lights had not been activated. The jury sided with Andino.

Andino v. Mills
New York

Bicyclist paralyzed in crash gets $5.85M

A bicyclist who was paralyzed when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle in a poorly lit intersection in Los Angeles received $5.85 million in settlements. In 2011, Russell Moon, was crossing a T-intersection when he was struck by Steven Kopald, who was attempting to make a left turn. Moon fractured five cervical vertebrae and was left a quadriplegic. Moon claimed that he was wearing bright orange bike clothes and had a flashing light fixed to his handlebars. Kopald's inattention caused the crash and the city failed to maintain the lighting over the intersection, Moon claimed. Kopald tendered his $5.5 million policy limits and paid an additional $250,000 out of his personal assets, while the city contributed $100,000.

VIEW THE FULL CASE Moon v. City of Los Angeles
California

Family recovers $2M against R.J. Reynolds

The family of a smoker who was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ultimately died of lung cancer recovered about $2 million. Jacqueline Loyd, 72, smoked cigarettes from her teenage years until several years after she was diagnosed with COPD. Following discovery as to which brands Loyd had smoked, the claims against Liggett Group and Philip Morris-USA were discontinued or dismissed. The jurors found R.J. Reynolds Tobacco had been 60 percent liable, Loyd 31 percent liable and Lorillard Tobacco 9 percent liable. A nearly $12.4 million punitive award against R.J. Reynolds was later set aside, which, combined with the withdrawal of one of the estate's claims, reduced the nearly $15.6 million award accordingly.

VIEW THE FULL CASE Estate of Loyd v. Liggett Group LLC
Florida

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Largest Jury Verdicts of the Year:

(2013 only; based on cases reported to VerdictSearch)

VERDICT	CASE	VENUE	DATE
$816,768,018	State of New Hampshire v. Hess Corp.	New Hampshire	April 9
$524,000,000	Meyer v. Health Plan of Nevada Inc.	Nevada	April 17
$400,049,039	In Re Urethane Antitrust Litigation	Kansas	Feb. 20
$240,000,000	EEOC v. Hill Country Farms Inc.	Iowa	May 1
$142,478,092	Carduco Inc. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC	Texas	Feb. 15
$130,000,000	Reilly v. St. Charles Hospital	New York	April 16
$96,000,000	Syntrix Biosystems Inc. v. Illumina Inc.	Washington	March 14
$90,000,000	Davis v. Prince George's County Board of Education	Maryland	April 12
$70,000,000	XpertUniverse Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc.	Delaware	March 22
$63,000,000	Reckis v. Johnson &anmp; Johnson	Massachusetts	Feb. 13