Below are example settlement amounts and jury payouts in Iowa medical malpractice and other personal injury cases.
Iowa Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements
- 2023, Iowa: $19,180,000 Verdict: A construction worker in Polk City, Iowa, was severely injured when a trench collapsed at a work site. Despite expressing safety concerns to his supervisor, he was instructed to work in the precarious trench, which caved in and trapped him, resulting in extensive physical injuries and psychological trauma, including PTSD. An Iowa jury awarded him over $19 million, with $3 million for compensatory damages and $16.18 million in punitive damages. He does not get to keep all of the punitive damages. Under Iowa’s Civil Reparations Trust Fund, the plaintiff keeps only 25% of a punitive damages award.