It can be difficult for a business to determine what limit of liability is sufficient for their operations. Both business and individuals often underestimate how financially devastating a lawsuit can be. Increasing your limit of liability is often one of the most cost effective methods of increasing the amount of protection your insurance policy provides. Some of the case examples below show how large judicial decisions can be.

Resort Company Reaches $45 Million Settlement After Data Breaches—Cyber Liability

An American multinational resort company agreed to pay $45 million to settle class-action lawsuits stemming from 2019 and 2023 data breach incidents. A Nevada federal court has preliminarily approved the settlement. According to court documents, in 2019, hackers accessed the company’s systems, which compromised millions of guests’ information, including names, phone numbers, addresses, passport numbers, birth dates and email addresses. Then, in 2023, cybercriminals impersonated IT staff members to carry out a ransomware attack using the employee’s login credentials. The company’s system and operations were shut down for days, 37 million guests’ personal information was exposed and the company estimated the financial impact to be $100 million. The plaintiffs alleged the company failed to implement adequate data security practices that would have prevented the breaches. According to the settlement, the $45 million will go into a fund and cover class members’ damages and attorney fees.

Woman Receives $16.75 Million Jury Award After Surgical Tool Left in Her Abdomen—Medical Malpractice

A New Mexico jury awarded $16.75 million to a woman after surgical personnel left a 13-by-2-inch metal retractor in her abdomen following a 2019 surgery. A CT scan approximately two months after the surgery detected the object after the patient experienced pain, nausea, anxiety and sleep issues. The $16.75 million verdict included $15 million in punitive damages against the health care network and $1.75 million in compensatory damages. The health care network, treatment center and the treatment center’s doctor who performed the surgery were named as defendants in the lawsuit that alleged medical negligence and included other claims. The plaintiff’s attorney stated that the stringent policy of counting surgical instruments to prevent their retention in a patient’s body was not followed. A health care network spokesperson said it has implemented additional training and practices to prevent similar incidents.

Jury Awards $2.7 Million to Woman Burned by Scalding Barbecue Sauce—Liability

A woman received a $2.7 million jury award after she was left with severe burns from hot barbecue sauce that spilled on her legs. The plaintiff’s lawyer stated that the accident happened because the Texas restaurant’s staff did not serve the sauce in a Styrofoam container per the food chain’s safety protocols. Instead, the sauce was provided in a 4-ounce plastic cup and served at 189 degrees, 24 degrees above the chain’s guidelines. The woman sustained severe skin injuries and deep tissue bleeding, according to local news reports. According to the woman and her mother, the plaintiff also missed school and work and experienced loneliness and depression following the incident. The $2.7 million award included $1.8 million in punitive damages.

Furniture Company Agrees to $1.48 Million Settlement in Hiring Bias Lawsuit—Employment Practices Liability

A Florida-based furniture store agreed to a $1.48 million settlement after a federal lawsuit alleged it discriminated against female job applicants. According to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorney who supervised the litigation, the company overlooked qualified job applicants because they were women. In the lawsuit, the company was accused of not hiring women for warehouse and driver roles in their retail stores or distribution center since 2021. The EEOC also stated the company’s recruiters violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by explicitly excluding women from the hiring process. In addition to providing monetary relief, the furniture company must enact new hiring and equal employment opportunity policies, hire an outside expert to guide training, investigate and review sex discrimination complaints, and comply with the consent decree. It must also report any complaints of discrimination to the EEOC annually.