Greatest payout for personal injury damages to an individual

The greatest personal-injury damages awarded to an individual were $163,882,660 (£109,109,627), awarded by a jury to Shiyamala Thirunayagam, aged 27, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on 27 Jul 1993. She was almost completely paralysed after the car in which she was travelling hit a truck which had broken down in the fast lane of the New Jersey Turnpike on 4 Oct 1987. Because the defendants would have challenged the jury's verdict in a higher court, Mrs Thirunayagam agreed to accept a lump sum of $8,230,000 (£5,479,000) for her pain and suffering and a guarantee that the defendants would pay up to $55,000,000 (£36,600,000) for her future medical expenses.