Nuclear Verdicts? Try Nuclear Profits (and Nuclear Corporate Greed)
I went to law school to help people. I believed then—as I do now—in the power of the courtroom as one of the few places where everyday people can stand up to the rich, the powerful, and the well-connected to demand justice. That fundamental principle is now under attack by the insurance lobby, aided by deep-pocketed influencers. The justification for stripping away constitutional rights and limiting damages for victims is nuclear verdicts.
Nuclear verdicts? TLR pushes the term "nuclear verdicts" to suggest that juries are issuing excessive, unjustified awards. But actual data reveals the opposite.
Between 2021 and 2025, only 4.6% of Texas jury verdicts exceeded $10 million. Nearly half (48.4%) were under $50,000. Motor vehicle accident cases made up 74.2% of trials, with a median award of just $38,600. Two-thirds of cases resulted in defense verdicts or awards below $50,000.
The Honorable Mike Engelhart, 2024 Trial Judge of the Year, testified that juries generally reach correct results. He noted that appellate courts already serve as a check on unjustified awards. No evidence submitted to the Senate showed even one appellate case upholding an unjustified nuclear verdict.
The real issue is nuclear profits for insurance companies and nuclear-sized campaign donations funneled into Austin by Texans for Lawsuit Reform (“TLR”). This entire push is nothing more than a PR stunt—a sky-is-falling narrative designed to manipulate the public while quietly advancing policies that feed corporate greed.
$169 billion in profits and $20+ million in insurance CEO salaries — and they still want more? Give me a break. TLR says nothing about these nuclear profits and salaries, the insurance gouging of Texans, or the denial of valid claims.
Instead of holding these insurance corporations accountable, TLR targets victims of tragic circumstances. It is a textbook case of corporate greed at work.
I want to know whether, since you are openly advocating for unconstitutional caps on victims of sexual abuse, injured children, and other accident victims, you are also proposing salary caps for insurance executives to help consumers and small businesses in Texas. The public deserves an answer to that simple yes-or-no question. Please answer it NOW. The public deserves to know before you strip away their constitutional rights.
Leave sexual assault victims, injured working-class people, permanently scarred children, and Texas families who lost loved ones alone. In other words, leave my clients alone. And leave our Constitution, our judges, our juries, and the 7th Amendment alone.
The time to act is now. Texans must speak up and push back against Senate Bill 30 and HB 4806. And push back on TLR’s other ridiculous new trucking bill that tries to hide relevant evidence from a jury (you). Call your representatives and share this message.
Say no more corporate greed. Reject Senate Bill 30. And push back on TLR’s other ridiculous new trucking bill that tries to hide relevant evidence from a jury (you).
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Cody Dishon is a board-certified personal injury trial lawyer who became a lawyer to help people and make a difference in their lives. He is a strong advocate of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, firmly believing that people in the community should be deciding disputes.