Wrongful Death Verdict News

$81 Million Utah Verdict in Child's Crosswalk Death Sets State Record

A Utah jury delivered an $81 million verdict on March 13, 2026, in the retrial of a wrongful death case brought by the family of Michael Madsen, an 11-year-old boy struck and killed by a truck in a Provo crosswalk in 2018. The award is believed to be the largest civil verdict in Utah history, surpassing the previous state record of $25 million. The verdict came at the end of a hard-fought retrial that began March 2. The first trial had ended in a defense verdict.What Happened to Michael Madsen In 2018, Michael Madsen was struck and killed by a truck while crossing in a marked crosswalk in Provo, Utah. The driver, Rusty Cope, was employed by Allied Building Products at the time of the collision. The Madsen family alleged that Allied hired a dangerously inexperienced driver with a checkered safety record, and that Cope sped into the crosswalk. The defense countered that Michael ran in front of the truck, pointing to video surveillance footage that showed the boy running as he entered the crosswalk.How the Jury Broke Down the $81 Million The jury's award was structured as follows: $33 million to each of Michael's parents $7.5 million to each of two friends who witnessed the collision The breadth of the award reflects the jury's recognition of harm extending beyond the immediate family, compensating two young witnesses who saw their friend killed.A Defense Offer of $1 Million, Then a $81 Million Verdict Just before closing arguments, the defense made a settlement offer of $1 million. The Madsen family declined. The jury's verdict triggered a flurry of negotiations during deliberations. According to plaintiff attorney Sean Claggett of Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers, the parties reached an undisclosed settlement that required the verdict to be finalized before the agreement could close. The settlement will preclude any appeals, bringing the eight-year legal fight to an end. "While the jury was deliberating there was a frenzy of negotiations," Claggett said, "and we were able to reach an agreement that required the deal to be finalized."The Trial Strategy That Turned the Case Around The outcome of the retrial hinged significantly on jury selection and trial strategy, according to Claggett. In the first trial, the defense verdict stood. In the retrial, Claggett waived all peremptory challenges and accepted the first ten qualified jurors. He credited that decision as central to the different result. "The biggest difference in the two cases was jury selection and having the jury really understand that the law in Utah requires them to judge the actions of our deceased client who was an 11-year-old boy," Claggett said. On the central factual dispute, Claggett took an unconventional approach: rather than disputing the surveillance footage showing Michael running into the crosswalk, he leaned into it. "We just owned this fact and used the defense expert to explain that it is normal for people to run into the crosswalk once the walk signal illuminates," he explained. Using the defense's own expert witness, Claggett argued that runners entering a crosswalk on a walk signal are acting lawfully, and that the burden falls on the driver, not the pedestrian. Claggett also drew on experience from a prior Nevada case he tried, where a jury assigned the child victim 27 percent fault in a similar crosswalk collision. He structured his Utah presentation specifically to prevent that outcome. Local counsel Blake Johnson of Johnson Livingston Personal Injury LLC supported Claggett at trial. The defense was represented by Jones Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C., with attorney Ruth Shapiro delivering the closing argument for the defense.A Record Verdict in a State Not Known for Large Awards The $81 million figure is striking not only for its size but for where it happened. Utah is not typically associated with outsized jury verdicts. Claggett addressed that directly. The verdict surpasses the previous Utah civil verdict record of $25 million. Claggett's pre-trial data analysis, which he described as a rigorous process involving focus groups to vet cases before committing to trial, drove his decision to take the Madsen case to a Utah courtroom.Major Verdict Tracks Outcomes Like This One Results like the Madsen verdict represent exactly what Major Verdict was built to surface. Major Verdict is a national membership platform where plaintiff personal injury attorneys publicly display their trial verdicts and notable settlements, creating a searchable record of real case outcomes for both legal professionals and the general public. Plaintiff attorneys who want to put their trial results on the record can create a free profile on Major Verdict. Members with standout verdicts like this one can upgrade to a Featured Member profile for greater visibility. The public can browse attorney profiles and verdict histories to find lawyers with proven track records in cases similar to their own.

$17M Minnesota Wrongful Death Verdict Holds Killer Liable After Insanity Acquittal

A Ramsey County jury awarded $17 million to the family and trustee of Phanny Phay, a 28-year-old woman who was murdered by her then-boyfriend in 2017. The verdict came after her killer, Andre Duprey, had previously been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the criminal case walking free while Phay's family was left without answers, without closure, and without a forum to tell their story. That changed in civil court. The case, tried on an intentional tort wrongful death theory, presented a question that cut to the heart of how the civil justice system treats violence committed by someone with a documented mental illness: does a defendant's psychiatric state excuse the act when a jury is deciding civil liability? In Minnesota, at least in this case, the answer was no.A Brutal Crime, a Criminal Acquittal, and a Family Left Behind In 2017, Andre Duprey allegedly believed he was seeing a demon when he attacked Phanny Phay. He stabbed her 45 times and shot her in the neck twice with a shotgun. Phay was 28 years old. She had been working toward a career in medicine, aspiring to become a pediatrician. Duprey was charged with second-degree murder. At trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to the Minnesota Forensic Mental Health Program in St. Peter. The Phay family never got to address the court. There was no criminal sentence, no victim impact statement, and no public accounting of what happened to their daughter and sister. "He was just shipped out to St. Peter," said Paul Appelbaum of the Appelbaum Law Firm, who represented the family in the civil case. "It is so important for people to be able to tell their story. They didn't get to."The Civil Case: Intentional Tort, Not Negligence Appelbaum, joined by Megan Curtis of Megan Curtis Law PLLC, filed a civil wrongful death suit on behalf of Phay's family and her trustee. The legal theory mattered enormously. Rather than alleging negligence, the attorneys pursued an intentional tort wrongful death claim. That distinction shaped everything about how the case was tried, argued, and ultimately decided. Under Minnesota civil law, Duprey's mental illness or diminished capacity was not a defense to intentional tort wrongful death liability. Judge Mark Ireland ruled that Duprey could testify about what he believed he witnessed the night of the killing, but the jury received an instruction making clear that mental illness was not an excuse for civil liability. "We wanted to be fair to the situation that happened and not try to mislead the jury as to the facts," Curtis explained, "but his NGRI in the criminal is not a defense in the civil wrongful death."Threading the Needle: Trial Strategy in an Unusual Case The case presented strategic challenges that Appelbaum and Curtis describe as genuinely tricky. Duprey had been released from the forensic mental health program by the time the civil trial was held. The Phay family only learned this when Duprey approached them at a restaurant during the case and expressed remorse. That dynamic followed the case into the courtroom. Duprey was present throughout the trial, behaving calmly. The attorneys had to account for how the jury might perceive that. Appelbaum's closing argument centered on a pointed legal principle: mistaken identity is not a defense to intentional tort wrongful death. Duprey believed Phay was a demon. He still chose to kill the person in front of him. "You still intended to kill the body that was in front of you," Curtis summarized. The jury absorbed that framework. After a few hours of deliberation, they returned a verdict of $17 million in favor of the family. With pre-judgment interest, the total recovery is expected to reach approximately $19 million, according to Curtis.What the Verdict Meant Beyond the Dollar Figure Appelbaum was candid that the size of the award, while significant, is not the measure of what this case delivered. Duprey, by all accounts, has no assets to satisfy the judgment. "My motivation was, we know this guy doesn't have any money," Appelbaum said. "It's more that we fell in love with the family." What the civil process gave the Phay family was something the criminal proceeding never could: a full hearing. Through discovery and subpoenas, the attorneys were able to give the family context about what actually happened the night Phay was killed. They got to tell their story in open court. They got a public verdict. "Not only being able to tell their story, not only being able to hold him accountable in some way, but being able to get a little bit of closure that was really worth it for the family," Curtis said. For Appelbaum, the case stands as one of the most meaningful of a nearly 35-year career.A Verdict That Signals Something Larger This outcome in Ramsey County illustrates a principle that plaintiff attorneys handle carefully but powerfully: the civil courts operate on their own standards of accountability. A not-guilty verdict in a criminal case ends the criminal matter. It does not foreclose a civil remedy, and it does not determine civil liability. For families who feel abandoned by the criminal justice system after a violent loss, civil wrongful death litigation can offer a path to accountability that the criminal process cannot or will not provide. Plaintiff attorneys who handle cases like this one are doing work that requires deep trial skill, careful evidentiary strategy, and the willingness to fight for outcomes that go beyond the settlement check. If you are a plaintiff attorney with trial results that deserve to be seen, Major Verdict is the only platform where you can publicly display your verdicts and settlements, for free. Let your record speak for itself. And if you or your family have suffered a wrongful death and want to find an attorney with a proven trial record, browse plaintiff lawyers on Major Verdict to find someone who has handled cases like yours.

Jury Awards $1.5 Million in Philadelphia Jail Wrongful Death Verdict After Inmate Dies from Insulin Neglect

A federal jury has awarded more than $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $170,000 in punitive damages to the family of Louis Jung Jr., a 50-year-old South Philadelphia man who died of diabetic ketoacidosis while incarcerated at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in 2023. The Philadelphia jail wrongful death verdict, handed down on Monday, March 2, 2026, found that Jung's constitutional right to necessary medical care was violated. Jung's three sons filed the wrongful death and medical neglect lawsuit in federal court in 2024. The suit named the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, and the company that provides healthcare at the city's jails as defendants.How Louis Jung Jr. Died in City Custody According to the lawsuit, Jung suffered from diabetes and required insulin to manage the condition. The suit alleged that jail staff failed to monitor his blood glucose levels, failed to administer insulin, and failed to send him to the hospital when his blood glucose became dangerously elevated. Jung died of diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication that occurs when the body does not receive enough insulin. The condition is both preventable and treatable with proper medical attention. His death occurred at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia. For more on cases like this, see Pennsylvania personal injury resources on Major Verdict.The Verdict and What the Jury Found Late on Monday, the jury returned a verdict awarding the Jung family more than $1.5 million in compensatory damages. Jurors also imposed $170,000 in punitive damages based on violations of Jung's constitutional right to receive necessary medical care while in custody. Rupalee Rashatwar, a staff attorney at the Abolitionist Law Center, a public interest law firm in Philadelphia that represented the family, said the verdict was about accountability. "For the Jung family, yesterday's verdict was about accountability, about ensuring that Mr. Jung's memory and the injustice that happened to him is remembered," Rashatwar said. A city spokesperson said officials were reviewing the verdict and had no additional comments.Philadelphia Jail Wrongful Death Verdict Follows Years of Systemic Problems The Jung verdict comes against a backdrop of ongoing scrutiny of conditions inside Philadelphia's jail system. In 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the city and the prisons department by ten incarcerated individuals who alleged inhumane conditions and civil rights violations. That litigation led to a 2022 agreement that placed a federal monitor over the prisons department to address systemic issues, including a corrections officer vacancy rate exceeding 40%. In 2024, a judge found the city in contempt of court for violating the agreement and ordered it to pay $25 million into a fund earmarked for jail improvements. The Jung family's verdict adds to mounting legal and financial consequences for the city over conditions inside its correctional facilities. Browse the latest verdict news on Major Verdict for more cases like this one.What This Wrongful Death Verdict Means for Jail Medical Neglect Cases Wrongful death cases involving jail medical neglect carry a high burden in federal court. To recover punitive damages, the Jung family's attorneys had to show more than simple negligence. They had to demonstrate that the failures amounted to a violation of Jung's constitutional rights, specifically his right to adequate medical care while in government custody. The jury's decision to award both compensatory and punitive damages signals that they found the failures were serious enough to warrant punishment beyond simply compensating the family for their loss. For attorneys handling similar cases, the Jung verdict reinforces that juries are willing to hold municipalities and their healthcare contractors accountable when inmates die from preventable medical conditions. Verdicts like this one deserve to be seen. Major Verdict is the only platform where plaintiff attorneys can publicly display their trial results and settlements for free. Create your profile today and let your record speak for itself. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, find a plaintiff lawyer on Major Verdict who has the trial record to back it up.

$3 Million Indiana Wrongful Death Settlement Reached After Allegedly Impaired Truck Driver Killed Cyclist

A 32-year-old father riding his bicycle home from work was struck and killed at a marked intersection by a truck driver who was allegedly under the influence. The case resolved pre-suit for $3,000,000 the full amount of all available underlying and excess insurance coverage according to a press release from Crossen Law Firm in Carmel, Indiana.What Happened: A Fatal Bicycle-Truck Collision in Indiana According to Crossen Law Firm, the victim was cycling through a pedestrian crosswalk at a marked intersection. He was wearing high-visibility long pants and a reflective jacket to make himself visible to passing motorists. Despite those precautions, a truck driver failed to stop at the intersection and struck the cyclist. The driver was reportedly operating his employer's vehicle and was allegedly impaired at the time of the crash while on his way to work. The collision killed the 32-year-old father, who was unmarried and the sole financial provider for his young daughter.How Crossen Law Firm Secured the Indiana Wrongful Death Settlement Trevor Crossen and his team launched an immediate investigation into the crash, focusing on evidence preservation, the driver's alleged impairment, and employer liability. Because the driver was operating a company vehicle at the time of the collision, the case involved both the driver's individual negligence and potential employer responsibility. Crossen Law Firm pursued both the underlying insurance policy and an excess policy held by the employer. Through what the firm described as "strategic negotiation and aggressive advocacy," Crossen Law Firm resolved the matter without filing a lawsuit recovering the full $3 million in available insurance coverage. "This was a completely preventable tragedy," said Trevor Crossen. "Our client was doing everything right wearing high-visibility clothing and using the designated pedestrian crosswalk. No family should have to experience the loss of a loved one because someone chose to drive impaired."Why the Pre-Suit Resolution Matters Resolving a wrongful death case before filing suit is not common, particularly at full policy limits. Pre-suit resolutions spare grieving families from the emotional toll of prolonged litigation depositions, courtroom testimony, and years of uncertainty. In this case, the pre-suit settlement also meant faster financial relief for the victim's daughter. According to Crossen Law Firm, the $3 million recovery will provide long-term support for the child's education, living expenses, and future needs. For plaintiff attorneys evaluating similar cases, the result underscores the value of early and thorough investigation. Preserving evidence of impairment, establishing employer liability, and identifying all available insurance layers were critical steps that made a full-limits recovery possible without the cost and delay of litigation.Indiana Wrongful Death Claims Involving Impaired Drivers Crashes involving allegedly impaired drivers often carry both criminal and civil consequences. While a criminal case focuses on punishment, a wrongful death settlement like the one Crossen Law Firm secured here focuses on compensation for the surviving family. In Indiana, families pursuing a wrongful death claim do not need to wait for the outcome of any criminal proceedings. Civil cases operate on a lower burden of proof preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt which means a settlement or verdict can be reached even if criminal charges are reduced or dismissed. Evidence of impairment can also strengthen the civil case significantly. Toxicology results, field sobriety test records, and witness testimony about the driver's behavior before the crash all become critical tools for plaintiff attorneys building a wrongful death claim. In this case, Crossen Law Firm cited its early investigation into the driver's impairment as a key factor in reaching the full-limits Indiana wrongful death settlement without litigation.Indiana Wrongful Death Settlements: What Families Should Know Indiana's wrongful death statute allows the personal representative of a deceased person's estate to file a claim on behalf of dependents and next of kin. Damages can include lost income, loss of care and companionship, medical and funeral expenses, and the grief and suffering of surviving family members. When a fatality involves an impaired driver operating a commercial or employer-owned vehicle, multiple insurance policies may come into play including the driver's personal coverage, the employer's commercial auto policy, and any excess or umbrella policies. Identifying and pursuing every available layer of coverage is often the difference between a partial recovery and a full-limits result. Plaintiff attorneys who handle Indiana wrongful death cases can create a free profile on Major Verdict to publicly display results like this one making their track record visible to families searching for experienced representation.A Preventable Death, a Measure of Accountability No dollar amount replaces a father. But the $3 million settlement secured by Crossen Law Firm ensures that a young girl left without her sole provider will have meaningful financial support as she grows up. The case also sends a clear message about accountability. When an impaired driver kills a cyclist who was following every safety precaution and an employer's vehicle is involved the full weight of available insurance should be on the table. Major Verdict tracks significant plaintiff settlements and verdicts across all 50 states. Find a plaintiff attorney with a proven trial record in your state.

King County Jury Awards $30.5M in CHOP Wrongful‑Death Case Against City of Seattle

A King County jury has awarded nearly $31 million to the family of 16‑year‑old Antonio Mays Jr., concluding the City of Seattle was negligent in how it managed the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone. Mays was shot during the protest zone period, and the family’s wrongful‑death suit argued the area was effectively abandoned by police and that delays in emergency response contributed to his death. Jurors agreed, returning a verdict in the family’s favor. According to trial reporting, Mays was shot in the CHOP zone on June 29, 2023. No suspects have been identified or arrested. The suit claimed the zone’s security and access policies created dangerous conditions and slowed first‑responder access. The verdict places liability on the city for its handling of the zone and its response protocols during the incident. A spokesperson for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office said the city would assess its options going forward, signaling the possibility of post‑trial motions or appeal. For now, the jury’s decision stands as a major wrongful‑death verdict tied to municipal response and public‑safety management during the protests.