In Virginia, possibility of plaintiff verdict remains greater than that of nation

The likelihood of a plaintiff verdict in Virginia is 9 percent greater than the national rate. The plaintiff recovery probability – the number of plaintiff verdicts to total verdicts – in Virginia is 64 percent compared to a 55 percent national recovery probability. Virginia plaintiffs, however, receive $10,000 less than the national award rate according to Jury Verdict Research®’s 2006 Virginia Verdict Survey.

The statistics are based on verdicts rendered in Virginia from 1999 through 2005. The study also includes a breakdown of specific injury and liability categories in the state of Virginia.

The following table outlines the overall award standings in Virginia as compared with the yearly award medians for the nation.

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.