AUSTIN – A new study shows Texas households lose an estimated $2.2 billion in personal income every year because of “nuclear verdicts” of $10 million or more.
The new study, released last week by economic research firm The Perryman Group, is called The Cost of Nuclear Verdicts to the Texas Economy.
Nuclear verdicts are tort awards of $10 million or more, and they typically are driven by large awards for noneconomic damages.
The study finds these verdicts push Texas property and casualty insurance costs at least 15.25% higher than they would otherwise be. When legal costs rise, insurers and the businesses they cover must charge more to remain solvent and reliable for their customers, squeezing family and business budgets already stretched by high housing and repair costs.
“Texas families are already struggling with high housing and repair costs. This study shows that nuclear verdicts are taking another $2.2 billion out of their pockets every year,” said Stef Zielezienski, chief legal officer for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Texas now ranks third in the nation in the value of nuclear verdicts. In 2025 alone, Texas juries returned 29 such verdicts totaling $3.4 billion.
The lost income is just part of the picture.
Counting multiplier effects, The Perryman Group estimates higher insurance costs tied to nuclear verdicts reduce Texas business activity each year by:
· $4.1 billion in gross product
· $2.2 billion in personal income
· 27,785 jobs
· $8.8 billion in total spending
The study says retail trade, including restaurants, takes the hardest hit, losing an estimated 9,798 jobs and $427 million in personal income. Financial activities, manufacturing, health services and construction also see significant losses.
It says governments lose as well, estimating annual fiscal losses of $202.3 million to the State of Texas and $154.8 million to local taxing entities, including counties, cities and school districts.
Nationally, nuclear verdicts more than doubled from 66 in 2021 to 135 in 2024. The study points to courtroom “anchoring,” where attorneys suggest very high damage figures to jurors, along with third-party litigation funding, misleading billboard advertising and case consolidation. Texas has considered reforms in recent legislative sessions, but none have been enacted.
"Every Texan pays for nuclear verdicts, whether or not they ever set foot in a courtroom,” Zielezienski said. “We support appropriate compensation for victims.
“But a gold rush by investors who are turning lawsuits into financial instruments, along with billboard lawyer tactics like jury anchoring, are often pushing verdicts to a place that costs Texas families.”
