US juries are handing out record jury awards against company-branded vehicles, and it's no longer just trucking. Here's the data, straight from the source.
$10M+
= a "Nuclear Verdict." The industry threshold used by ATRI and the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform to define a runaway jury award.
Named sources only. Full list at the bottom of this page.
$36M
Median nuclear verdict in 2022, up ~50% on the 2013 median.
ATRI, 2025
135 / $31.3B
Nuclear verdicts vs. corporate defendants in 2024, up 52% in number, 116% in value, on 2023.
Marathon Strategies, 2025
1 in 4
Auto nuclear verdicts hit a trucking company. Non-trucking branded fleets are rising ~10%/yr.
US Chamber ILR & Brattle Group, 2025
78%
Rise in commercial auto claim severity, 2014 to 2023, more than double the 29% rise in CPI.
Insurance Information Institute, 2026
$70.8B
Added to US commercial auto liability losses by "social inflation," 2015 to 2024.
Casualty Actuarial Society / III, 2026
FL·CA·TX·NY
Four states account for roughly half of every nuclear verdict in the US.
Clyde & Co, 2025
The branding problem
Under the doctrine of "logo liability," courts in multiple states treat a company's signage on a vehicle as proof the company is responsible for that vehicle and its driver.
A branded vehicle is, by definition, an identifiable, well-resourced defendant in front of a jury.
Sources: NAIC · Legal industry reporting on logo/placard liability, 2025 to 2026
ONO isn't a claims company or an insurer. It's the incident reporting and risk infrastructure that closes the documentation gaps litigation feeds on.
01
One Process, Every Vehicle
Photos, video, third-party & witness details captured the same way, at the roadside, in minutes.
02
One Case File
Evidence is time-stamped and centralized, not scattered across phones, paper and email.
03
Fleet-Wide Visibility
Managers see incidents and risk live: an active safety record, not one rebuilt after a claim.
04
A Proven Outcome
No fleet documentation is invincible, but a consistent, time-stamped record is what every defense above relies on.
Sources
Build The Paper Trail Before You Need It.
See how ONO captures defensible incident evidence, every time.
Talk To ONO