Juries in the 75 largest counties disposed of 12,000 tort, contract, and real property rights cases during a 12-month period ending June 30, 1992. Jury cases were 2% of the 762,000 tort, contract, and real property cases disposed by State courts of general jurisdiction in the Nation's most populous counties. Thirty-three percent of cases decided by juries were automobile accident suits, 11% were medical malpractice, and 5% were product liability and toxic substance cases. In half of all jury cases, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and in the 12-month period awarded an estimated $2.7 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. The median total award for a plaintiff was $52,000. Punitive damages were awarded in 6% of the jury cases with a plaintiff winner. The median punitive award was $50,000; average time from complaint filing to jury verdict was 2.5 years.
A 1996 update of these data are available in Civil Trial Cases and Verdicts in Large Counties, 1996.