While a North Carolina plaintiff has a 62 percent overall recovery probability for a plaintiff verdict, the median award amount is only $10,000. Whereas, the national plaintiff recovery probability- the number of plaintiff verdicts to total verdicts - is 55 percent and the national median award, at $40,000, is 4 times the North Carolina median award, according to Jury Verdict Research®'s 2006 North Carolina Verdict Survey.

The statistics are based on verdicts rendered in North Carolina from 1999 through 2004. The study also includes a breakdown of specific injury and liability categories in the state of North Carolina.

The median is the middle value among awards listed in ascending order. This value provides the most accurate gauge of the norm for a specific sampling of jury award data.

Jury Verdict Research® maintains the only nationwide database of more than 250,000 plaintiff and defense verdicts and settlements, resulting from personal injury claims. The data are reported, tabulated and analyzed to determine values, trends and deviations for 400 injuries and 300 liabilities. Jury Verdict Research® is a division of LRP Publications, Inc.