The World's Biggest Personal Injury Payout at a Glance

Did you know that the Guinness World Record for the highest personal injury payout to an individual is valued at more than $160 million? This is just four-fifths of the overall personal injury payout settled in 1993 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

Six years prior to the verdict, nine people in a rent-a-car station wagon were involved in an accident with a tractor trailer that had broken down that day. Among them was a couple from Sri Lanka; the wife was so severely injured as to require nursing care for almost fifty years.

Details of the court describe future pain and suffering comprising the biggest part of the huge payout ($92 million). The rent-a-car dealership and the company where the tractor trailer driver reported to were found equally liable in the accident.

How did an ordinary accident case yield millions in compensation? As mentioned earlier, the severity of her injuries came to the point that she needed nursing care for the next several decades, including labor and medical equipment expenses.

Ontario has had its fair share of personal injury awards. However, the payouts were a fraction of this world record. Nevertheless, given the right circumstances, personal injury settlements can reach into the millions.