Won at Trial, Cut Afterward: What Happens to $1 Million Injury Verdicts in New York
A jury verdict makes the news. What happens to it afterward usually doesn't. In New York, a large injury verdict is often the start of another round: the trial judge can reduce it or set it aside, and the Appellate Division can reduce it, reverse it or order a new trial.
To see how often that happens, SettleScore followed 188 New York state-court injury verdicts of more than $1 million through the rulings that came after them. For 174 of them, there is a recorded ruling by the trial judge, an appeals court or both.
Most of those verdicts did not survive intact. Of the 174, 111 (64%) were reduced, reversed or sent back for a new trial. When a court reduced an award, the typical reduction was 52% of the verdict, and half of the reductions fell between 30% and 69%. Taken together, the reduced awards went from $1.08 billion at verdict to $431 million.
The rest held up. Fifty-seven verdicts stood at the full amount after the last ruling, including 11 that a trial judge had reduced or set aside and an appeals court later restored. Six were increased.
Where the verdicts ended up
| Where the verdict stood after the last ruling | Verdicts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced | 87 | 50% |
| Stood at the verdict amount | 57 | 33% |
| New trial ordered or verdict set aside | 15 | 9% |
| Reversed | 9 | 5% |
| Increased | 6 | 3% |
| Total with a later ruling | 174 | 100% |
The pattern held across case types
The share of verdicts that were reduced, reversed or sent back for a new trial was similar in every kind of case we could measure.
| Case type | Verdicts with a later ruling | Reduced, reversed or new trial |
|---|---|---|
| Premises (falls and unsafe property) | 36 | 67% |
| Medical malpractice | 34 | 65% |
| Motor vehicle | 53 | 62% |
| Construction | 18 | 61% |
| Other injury cases | 33 | 64% |
Medical malpractice differs in one respect. Seven of the 34 verdicts were sent back for a new trial or set aside, about one in five. Across all cases, the figure was fewer than one in ten.
Why courts reduce large verdicts
New York's appeals courts ask whether an award "deviates materially from what would be reasonable compensation" (CPLR 5501(c)), and trial judges apply the same test. In practice, the court compares the award with earlier awards for similar injuries. If it finds the award out of line, it orders a new trial on damages unless the injured person agrees to accept a lower amount. Most of the reduced verdicts in this study ended at that lower amount.
A verdict can also be reversed, or sent back for a new trial, because of a problem with the evidence, the law or the instructions given to the jury.
What this means if you have a case
- A verdict is not a check. The amount a jury awards can change for months or years, and many cases settle after a verdict for amounts that are never published.
- Ask firms what happened after their verdicts. A firm's published verdict is the jury's number. Ask whether it was upheld, reduced or settled, and whether the firm handles appeals itself.
- Compare evidence, not headlines. SettleScore ranks firms on their results and shows where each figure comes from.
How we did this
We started from the New York state-court personal injury verdicts of more than $1 million in SettleScore's reviewed case records, which are built from published court decisions and other public sources. For each verdict, we recorded where it stood after its last recorded ruling. A verdict that a trial judge set aside and an appeals court later restored counts as standing at the verdict amount. Federal cases and records still under review are left out, and no firm is named.
Because most of these verdicts are known from appellate decisions, the sample leans toward verdicts that were challenged. The percentages describe verdicts with a recorded ruling, not every verdict in New York. Amounts after a ruling are what the court allowed, not necessarily what was paid.
The full figures, updated as new decisions are published, are on our research page: What Happens to Big Verdicts After Trial.
This article is general information about New York law, not legal advice for your situation.
Sources: SettleScore research: verdicts after trial · CourtListener, published court decisions · NY CPLR 5501(c) · NY Courts, Appellate Division