Social Inflation is Costing Businesses Millions

The rise of nuclear verdicts and social inflation is creating a chilling effect for insurers, according to Robert Tyson, Jr., a defense attorney interviewed in NU Property Casualty 360. For the last 10 years, jury verdicts have continued to grow, with carriers and their policyholders paying the price.

Notably, Tyson found that the number of jury verdicts over $10 million (known as ‘nuclear verdicts’) has risen dramatically since 2009, when the infamous plaintiffs ‘reptile theory’ was first detailed in David Ball and Don Keenan’s book on the subject. Reptile theory suggests that plaintiffs’ lawyers can receive larger settlements at trial by scaring or angering jurors.

Tyson’s book, Nuclear Verdicts, Defending Justice for All, provides an insider’s view on how to counter the Reptile strategy and other factors contributing to nuclear verdicts and social inflation.