Pennsylvania Litigation Trends to Watch in 2026
In 2025, Pennsylvania saw a steep decline in “nuclear verdicts,” reversing an upward year-over-year trend since the COVID-19 pandemic. After a record number of eight-figure-plus civil jury awards in 2024, Philadelphia saw fewer large verdicts last year. Philadelphia juries awarded only three verdicts over USD10 million, and total damages awarded in Philadelphia dropped by over USD3 billion from 2024. This reversal likely reflects an increase in settlements as corporations observed the significant verdicts being awarded in Philadelphia in recent years. In addition, Philadelphia-area health systems have invested more heavily in legal spend, beginning to level the playing field with the plaintiff’s bar.
Pennsylvania’s litigation landscape in 2026, as detailed below, is defined by the continuing tension between large plaintiff verdicts and appellate review of those verdicts, the evolution of digital contract formation standards and their impact on mandatory arbitration clauses, as well as expanding theories of liability in pharmaceutical and opioid litigation. The ongoing Roundup appellate battles over federal preemption, the fallout from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s narrowing of workers’ compensation co-employee immunity, and the developing pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) opioid liability theory all signal that Pennsylvania’s courts are poised for another consequential year.
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"Pennsylvania: Philadelphia & Surrounds: A Litigation: General Commercial Overview," by Daniel E. Rhynhart was published in Chambers and Partners on June 10, 2026.