There has been a growing trend throughout Louisiana for juries to award multimillion dollar verdicts, known as “nuclear verdicts,” in personal injury lawsuits. In a previous article, we explored a few cases, noting there’s no indication that we will see a reduction of these multimillion-dollar verdicts any time soon. In this article, we discuss three recent cases in which the general damages awarded are up to 160 times higher than the plaintiff’s past medical expenses.

Clark v. Cotton, 25-512 (La. App. 3 Cir. 02/25/26) (12th JDC)

Clark v. Cotton involves a multi-vehicle accident occurring on the interstate. We examine the claims of the two plaintiffs:

Plaintiff A was awarded $4,653,000 in general damages for a cervical injury treated with a one-level cervical fusion surgery, and a lumbar injury where the plaintiff was recommended for a lumbar fusion surgery in the next one-to-three years. Plaintiff A’s award of general damages was 28 times higher than his past medical expenses of $164,684.00.

Plaintiff B was awarded $2,175,000 in general damages for a lumbar injury consisting of multiple disc herniations, and where he was recommended for a “T12-Ilium” decompression and fusion surgery to fuse his lumbar spine. Plaintiff B’s award of general damages was 160 times higher than his past medical expenses of $13,573.00.

Sinegal v. Francis, 25-204 (La. App. 3 Cir. 12/03/25) (15th JDC)

In Sinegal v. Francis, the plaintiff (age 68) brought suit for a thoracic spine fracture following a motor vehicle collision. His thoracic spine injury was treated with a three-level thoracic fusion surgery at T6-9, and he was awarded $1,600,000 in general damages, which was almost 18 times higher than the plaintiff’s past medical specials of $88,966.07.

Thomas v. BNSF Railway Co., 2023 CA 1209 R (La. App. 1 Cir. 08/21/25) (16th JDC)

In Thomas v. BNSF Railway Co., the plaintiff (age 47) was awarded $8,000,000 in general damages following a train versus vehicle accident, resulting in multiple lumbar herniations which required a 2-level fusion, and where the plaintiff may need a second surgery to repair a leak of spinal fluid. The plaintiff was also recommended for a spinal cord stimulator. The plaintiff’s award of general damages was 71 times higher than her past medical expenses of $112,000.00.