Four of the Biggest Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Awards of 2023

Law360 has listed some of the top personal injury and medical malpractice awards of 2023. Among them include a $1.2 billion award in a revenge porn case, and an $980 million jury verdict in Pennsylvania.

1. Houston woman awarded $1.2 billion in a revenge porn suit

In Harris County, Texas, a jury awarded $1.2 billion to a woman whose ex-boyfriend allegedly breached her computer accounts, impersonated her, and “maliciously spread ‘revenge porn’ – intimate images and videos of her online after a breakup.”

The jury awarded the Jane Doe $200 million for past and future mental anguish, and $1 billion in exemplary damages. Doe’s lawyer pointed out that the verdict set a record for image-based sexual abuse, but that the money is unlikely to be recovered. However, he stated, “They wanted to send a message that this conduct is wrong to deter others from doing the same thing and set an example.”

The case is Jane Doe (D.L) v. Marques Jamal Jackson, case number 2022-20061, in the 113th Judicial District of Harris County, Texas.

2. Mitsubishi must pay $980 million over faulty seat belt lawsuit

The victim of a defective Mitsubishi seat belt was awarded $980 million after a car accident caused him to become paralyzed in 2017. The award, one of the biggest in Philadelphia history, comprises $180 million in compensatory damages and $800 million in punitive damages.

The plaintiff alleges that the seat belt in Francis Amagasu’s 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GET failed to restrain him during a rollover crash, leading to catastrophic spinal cord injuries that have left him unable to move his arms or legs. Mitsubishi maintained that the seat belt was crashworthy, and blamed Amagasu’s injuries on him driving recklessly.

The jury deliberated four and a half hours on the compensatory damages and just 20 minutes on the punitive damages, per Law 360.

The case is Amagasu et al. v. Mitsubishi Motors North America et al., case number 181102406, in the Court of Common Pleas for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

3. Greystar Real Estate Partners must pay out $860 million for crane collapse

A Dallas County, Texas, court ordered Greystar Real Estate Partners subsidiaries to pay $860 million after a 2019 construction crane collapsed, killing one woman and injuring several other people.

Residents alleged that Greystar and equipment owner Bigge Crane and Rigging “failed to inspect, maintain, secure and test the crane, hire competent employees and perform work properly or safely, according to court records. But the jury determined that only Greystar was responsible.”

It’s also worth noting that, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas had the most fatal occupational deaths involving cranes of any other state from 2011 to 2017 – 50 fatalities.

The case is Flores et al. v. Bigge Crane and Rigging Co. et al., case number CC-19-04006-B, in County Court at Law No. 2 of Dallas County.

4. Florida jurors award $261 million to Maya Kowalski for hospital mistreatment

A Florida jury awarded Maya Kowalski, the subject of the Netflix documentary “Take Care of Maya,” $211 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages. The jury found Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital liable for false imprisonment, battery, medical malpractice, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and fraudulent billing.

This verdict is the result of a trial over whether the hospital’s mistreatment of Maya in 2016 led to the suicide of her mother, Beata Kowalski. Beata took her own life about three months after Maya was removed from her parents’ custody.

The hospital plans to appeal the verdict.

The case is Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Inc. et al., case number 2018-CA-005321, in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

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