How to Fight Third-Party Litigation Funding 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 programs will help progressive crane owners stem the rising tide of nuclear verdicts by proactively containing claims litigation, rather than following the traditional( reactive) claims handling that has enabled litigation abuse.
New Normal in Tort Trends
Rising tort filings, larger verdicts and funding-backed litigation mean greater exposure and more complex claims management for insurers.
These factors are driving crane owners to consider new alternative risk financing as compared to traditional reactive insurance for their crane operations.
With filings trending upward and jury awards changing expectations, insurers will need to recalibrate their subrogation strategies, reassess liability limits and strengthen litigation management to weather the“ new normal” in tort exposure.
One factor is that the minimum value of a case that a federal court will look at($ 75,000) has not changed since 1996.
Because that dollar amount hasn’ t changed, inflation alone has shifted more cases into federal courts.
Combine that with publicity about large verdicts, and you have a strong trend toward increased tort filings for crane owners.
Conclusion
The ever-evolving trial strategies with reptile theory practices, litigation funding and the constantly growing attorney advertising will continue to frame defendants as“ threats to community safety.”
We know, however, and believe firmly, that our crane industry deserves to showcase the truth.
By banding together, we can strengthen our ability to protect crane owner interests.
One new tool that may help us do that is artificial intelligence. We can use it to help turn the tide by modeling trial outcomes, anticipating jury behavior and spotting patterns that can shape our litigation strategy.
Kevin Cunningham has 27 years of experience in crane risk management and is president of Acies Crane Underwriters. He can be reached at kevin. cunningham @ aciesmgu. com.
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.
www. cranehotline. com • November 2025 37