motives.
However, disclosure alone“ isn’ t a silver bullet,” warned Nathan Morris, senior counsel, litigation policy and risk mitigation for Johnson & Johnson.“ Constituents don’ t care who’ s funding a case; they care that they were hurt.”
Although Morris believes telling a jury that third-party funding is involved in a case is useful, he says it is more important to change incentives so funders will choose to invest their money in other places.
Adam Blinick, senior director of U. S. and Canada policy and communications at Uber, notes that unless a solution addresses deeper incentives, such as attorney-doctor referral networks that inflate medical billing, capital will simply flow into new areas of litigation.
“ If you try to choke off the money rather than fix the underlying problem that
generates those returns, you’ re losing the forest for the trees,” he said.
Stemming the Rise of Nuclear Verdicts
Inflation, stagnant policy limits and rising awards are driving more claims into federal court and increasing exposure for insurers and their clients, crane owners.
According to the newly released 2025 Tort Filings Litigation Report, by Insurance Business magazine, tort cases in U. S. federal courts jumped nearly 20 % from 2023 to 2024.
The report says the rise is driven by the widening gap between policy limits and today’ s cost of care and living expenses.
That coverage gap, paired with climbing healthcare costs, leaves federal courts as the venue of last resort, and increasingly, the venue of first choice.
Another factor behind the surge is the rise of“ nuclear verdicts”- jury awards of more than $ 10 million- which are growing faster than general economic inflation.
Multi-million-dollar compensatory and punitive damages grab headlines and encourage more claimants to take their chances at trial rather than accept pre-suit settlements.
That success in court, combined with attorneys advertising their ability to win lucrative judgments, convinces claimants to hold out for a windfall rather than accept an insurer’ s reasonable offer.
To stem the rising tide of nuclear verdicts, a growing number of industry coalitions, small business associations and consumer advocates are beginning to share data crucial to convincing federal and state governments to change laws.
Additionally, alternative risk financing( captive) insurance
Here’ s how third-party litigation funding works to benefit investors. Any return the investors make comes out of the pockets of insurance companies, and ultimately, the companies they insure, such as crane and heavy-haul business owners.
14 November 28, 2025 www. contractorshotline. com