Happy Wednesday! In this week’s Big I Buzz: Tort reform gains momentum as nuclear verdicts reshape liability exposure. Plus, employers navigate vaccine coverage confusion as the FDA changes COVID vaccine rules.

Tort Reform Gains Ground as Nuclear Verdicts Reshape Liability Landscape

The liability litigation environment is shifting as nuclear verdicts continue to surge and states roll out new tort reforms aimed at restoring balance, according to Sedgwick’s 2025 liability litigation trends report.

In 2024, nuclear verdicts against corporations hit record highs: 135 lawsuits resulted in awards of more than $10 million—a 52% jump from 2023. Altogether, these verdicts totaled $31.3 billion, marking a staggering 116% increase year over year. Read more here.

Employers Face Vaccine Coverage Chaos as FDA Sets New Rules for COVID Vaccines

Employers are facing fresh challenges when it comes to covering COVID-19 and other vaccinations. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the end of emergency-use rules for COVID vaccines, including Novavax’s Nuvaxovid, while also tightening access guidelines for others. This shift complicates coverage requirements for employer health plans.

Even as wastewater testing indicates a new COVID wave—showing about 3.6 million new weekly infections in the U.S. and over 1,300 excess deaths—the FDA maintains that the pandemic emergency period has ended. Officials now say the current, lower level of risk no longer supports encouraging routine vaccination for healthy people under 65. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to imply in comments on X that working-age people with health problems, such as obesity, might be able to get COVID vaccine shots without a prescription, but that others might need a prescription. Read more here.

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