$20 Billion Won for Our Clients

In 2019, our firm—along with Thomas R. Kline at Kline and Specter—tried the very first punitive damages case against Johnson & Johnson for their drug Risperdal. The drug was originally developed to treat schizophrenia but was aggressively marketed off-label to children with autism and other behavioral disorders. Johnson & Johnson hid the dangerous side effect of its drug from the public, medical community, and F.D.A.

Our client was prescribed Risperdal and developed gynecomastia (female breast growth in boys). Our firm uncovered evidence that Johnson & Johnson knew about the link between their drug and gynecomastia, but didn’t turn it over to the FDA.

After a month-long trial, the jury returned with a verdict of $8 billion—the largest single-plaintiff jury verdict ever won in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the third largest jury verdict every obtained for an individual in the United States.

Jason Itkin, Noah Wexler, and Roland Christensen, along with Thomas R. Kline, Chris Gomez, Melissa Merck, and Toby L. Millrood of Kline & Spector, won a second history-making verdict against Bayer/Monsanto in the Roundup litigation. We remain committed to holding the chemical manufacturer accountable for decades of poisoning regular people.

Since Roundup came on the market nearly 40 years ago, Monsanto has used all its influence to hide the link between Roundup and cancer. However, the truth has come out about this dangerous chemical.

Our client used Roundup and then developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Our firm presented years of evidence and testimony, and after careful consideration, the well-educated jury awarded $2.25 billion against Monsanto. It’s the largest verdict against Monsanto/Bayer in the Roundup litigation.

In a groundbreaking Georgia trial, Attorneys Kyle Findley, Noah Wexler, and our trial team secured a $2.065 billion verdict for John Barnes, a man who spent 20 years using Roundup at his home—only to be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020. Despite relying on the product’s reputation as “safe” and “environmentally friendly,” Mr. Barnes was unknowingly exposing himself to a known carcinogen.

Our team uncovered internal Monsanto documents proving the company knew of the cancer risks tied to glyphosate as early as the 1980s. Instead of warning consumers, they manipulated science, pressured regulators, and denied accountability. We presented this evidence to a Georgia jury, which responded with a powerful verdict: $2.065 billion in damages to reflect the harm done and to punish Monsanto for its reckless, calculated deception. This case marks the first Roundup trial in Georgia and sets a national precedent in holding chemical giants responsible for the devastation they cause.

On June 8, 2019, Kiersten Smith was making dinner in her apartment when a crane across the street fell onto her building. In a moment, she and her entire living room were gone. Kiersten’s mother called Arnold & Itkin once it was clear that the crane’s operators—a real estate developer called Greystar—were refusing to take responsibility for the crane collapse. After four years of shameless delay tactics, we took Greystar to court. In the end, the jury saw through Greystar and forced them to pay $860 million to our client for what they did.

Attorney Kyle Findley and our team represented a grievously injured woman who was struck by train operators working for Union Pacific.

On March 5, 2016, our client took a brief rest next to some railroad tracks after losing her friends during a night out. Minutes later, train operators spotted her unmoving body on the tracks, identifying her as a person. Despite the life-threatening consequences an impact would have, the train operators didn’t stop or even slow down the train. As a result, our client suffered life-changing harm.

After seven years of delays, Union Pacific was forced to finally meet us in court. Because our firm proved the train operators might have avoided impact with our client, the jury awarded her a historic $557 million verdict. This money will go toward ensuring she gets the medical care and financial security she needs.

Attorney Roland Christensen and our legal team secured a $411 million jury verdict for a young man injured while working for Brock Services, a major scaffolding company. While on-site at the Phillips 66 Lake Charles refinery, a 20-pound metal bar struck his head, leaving him paralyzed and barely verbal—despite his hard hat.

His family had to upend their lives to care for him. He had been supporting his sister through college; she had to drop out to help.

Brock Services never reported the incident and denied responsibility. For nearly two years, we fought to hold them accountable. Even at trial, they accused our client of lying. The jury saw the truth, awarding him and his family $411 million—the largest single-plaintiff injury verdict in Louisiana history.

Attorneys Kurt Arnold, Jason Itkin, and Kyle Findley secured $357.7 million in a confidential settlement on behalf of several injured employees. A workplace accident led to the injury of numerous workers, each of whom turned to Arnold & Itkin for help. Our firm was able to secure record settlements for each of them, collectively obtaining the largest workplace accident settlement in state history. Kurt, Jason, and the rest of the team were able to achieve this result within only 16 months of the date of injury.

Our team, led by Kurt Arnold and Kyle Findley, successfully settled a case for victims of a tragic plant explosion that left dozens of workers injured. The incident, caused by a petrochemical company prioritizing profits over safety, had devastating consequences for the more than 30 workers we represented. Arnold & Itkin aggressively litigated the case, taking over 30 depositions and holding those responsible fully accountable. With a history of achieving exceptional results in plant explosion cases, we are proud to have delivered this outcome in under two years, ensuring justice for our clients.

Attorneys Jason Itkin and Cory Itkin obtained a $222 million verdict for a woman whose husband Jesse suffered fatal burns over approximately 90% of his body in a plant accident. Jesse was sent to investigate a steam release from a faulty valve, but when the elevator doors opened, the steam burned Jesse. He was airlifted to a burn unit, but it was too late. Jesse died the next day. The faulty valve was traced back to Team Industrial Services, Inc., who denied responsibility until a jury heard the facts and ruled in our favor.

Attorneys Caj Boatright and Roland Christensen won a verdict of $209.2 million for the family of Karl Schneider, a company man in the drilling industry who died from a rare and preventable disease caused by corporate negligence and dishonesty.

While working as a company man for Terra Energy in Western Colorado, Karl lived and worked in company-owned facilities for two-week hitches. The facilities were riddled with mice, getting to the point where workers competed to see who could catch the most mice. In September 2019, Karl started a two-week hitch when he came down with flu symptoms. They seemed mild enough, so he kept doing his job.

What Terra Energy kept from Karl was that flu symptoms were an early sign of Hantavirus—a rare and fatal virus carried by mice droppings, urine, and saliva. Terra Energy had extensive safety documents about Hantavirus prevention and mitigation inherited from the facilities’ previous owner. Still, they’d not given Karl these documents for the two years he’d worked there.

Karl died within a week, and the CDC confirmed it: he’d died from a strain of Hantavirus only found in Western Colorado. From there, Karl’s family called Arnold & Itkin, and we uncovered the extent to which Terra Energy had kept Karl in the dark—ultimately causing his death.

After three years, we finally forced the company into court, where the jury saw the truth: Terra Energy caused the death of a good man because they hid the risks of living in remote Colorado. They awarded Karl’s family $103.6 million for their loss and hit the company with a punitive damage verdict of $105.6 million.

It’s a monumental result, but our firm is prouder still for having honored Karl’s memory by getting justice for his wife and children.

Attorneys Kurt Arnold, Jason Itkin, Noah Wexler, and Caj Boatright achieved a massive settlement on behalf of a large group of clients. Our attorneys took dozens of depositions to get to the bottom of the facts. After years of difficult, highly-contested litigation, they were finally able to overcome both procedural and legal hurdles. The defendants chose to settle with our clients shortly before trial was scheduled to begin.

Kurt Arnold, Caj Boatright, and Roland Christensen secured a $193 million settlement for two workers who were caught in a pipeline explosion offshore. One of the workers eventually passed away from his injuries. Once the families called us, Arnold & Itkin immediately put pressure on the at-fault company. We investigated the incident, took numerous depositions from key witnesses, and collected vital pieces of evidence. We steered the case through difficult obstacles unique to maritime law, ensuring that the case moved to trial quickly. Because the negligent company wanted to avoid facing a jury at all costs, our effort to push the case forward pressured the defendant to settle with both families to take care of them for generations. In the meantime, we made sure our clients got the best care possible. It was an honor and privilege to represent these hard-working families through the worst tragedy of their lives, and we were glad to deliver such an incredible result.