Author: Nancy Germond

According to this article, a missed healthcare diagnosis resulted in a whopping $111 million verdict in Minnesota, according to a recent Burns & Wilcox article. A college soccer player sustained an injury in 2017 while playing for his college. After a missed diagnosis of compartment injury, a “very challenging to diagnose" syndrome with a low success rate for accurate identification, the jury awarded the plaintiff over $111 million for his injury.

The concerns of many insurers are that these types of awards, known as “nuclear verdicts," will open the floodgates for other law firms and plaintiffs to vigorously pursue allegations of medical malpractice.

Although the carrier will no doubt appeal the verdict, the average settlement value of med mal cases continues to escalate, according to the article.

While these verdicts are outliers, there is no doubt that the U.S. jury pool is trending toward awarding huge verdicts. At any renewal or during any mid-year conversations with your clients, it's a good idea to review their current liability limits and discuss the options they have for increasing their limits. 

Be sure to document these conversations in your hard file, but preferably in your agency management system, to prevent a potential errors & omissions claim against your agency. 

First published: July 15, 2022

Last Updated:  June 19, 2023

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