Trying to recover financial losses after an accident isn’t as simple as calling up the insurance company. There’s a process you need to follow. You also need to submit plenty of evidence proving you suffered each listed damage. This usually takes care of your economic and non-economic losses, but what about punitive damages?
Do you list punitive damages on your claim? What about the common factors affecting punitive damage amounts? Is there any way to know if you’re even eligible to receive punitive damages? These are all great questions that we’re answering along with a few others.
What Are Punitive Damages in Personal Injury Cases?
You’re not going to receive punitive damages if you settle with the insurance company. This isn’t recommending you turn down every insurance settlement offer. If you receive a fair offer, by all means, give it some thought. There’s absolutely no guarantee you’ll receive punitive damages if your injury claim ends up in civil court.
Punitive damages are only awarded by a judge or jury. Yep, this means taking your personal injury claim to civil court. You’re also going to go through a trial, and yes, this takes time. How long your case takes to wind through the court depends on a few factors. On average, most personal injury cases take anywhere from a few months to a year or more.
If the judge or jury decides your financial award isn’t enough, they can decide to tack on punitive damages. This usually happens when gross negligence applies. Gross negligence comes into play when the defendant’s actions or inactions are intentional. This can be anything from driving drunk and causing a catastrophic collision to ignoring an injured victim after the accident.
The role of punitive damages is to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in the same behavior. This is why punitive damage amounts tend to be rather high.
Are There Caps on Punitive Damage Amounts?
Some states cap punitive damage amounts and others leave it up to the judge or jury. Typically, if a state has a cap on punitive damages it’s around four times the value of your economic damages. So, if your economic losses total $100,000, the most you can get in punitive damages is $400,000.
Some states like Georgia cap punitive damages in medical malpractice claims. Other states cap any potential punitive damages awarded in injury cases against a government entity. The best advice is to talk to an experienced personal injury attorney about your state’s laws on punitive damage amounts.
What Factors Can Impact My Punitive Damage Amount?
You know state laws can impact your potential punitive damage amount, but other factors can affect your compensation. The court looks at the defendant’s actions. Is the defendant’s actions intentional, malicious, or grossly negligent?
The court also tends to look at other similar cases. The court is looking to see if punitive damages were awarded. If the plaintiff received punitive damages, what’s the amount?
We should mention that there isn’t a set formula for handing out punitive damages. The judge and jury pretty much have the freedom to award what they think is appropriate. They just have to stay within any state mandates. In other words, the court can’t award more in punitive damages than the state’s cap.
Do I Have to Prove Gross Negligence to Receive Punitive Damages?
Regardless of which state you’re filing your injury case, you’re going to need to prove gross negligence if you want to recover punitive damages. This means meeting the four key elements of negligence.
You must show the defendant owes you a duty of care. This means handling all known hazards and those they should reasonably know about. A duty of care also extends to behavior. Everyone has a duty to someone to behave in a way that doesn’t place others at risk.
After showing the defendant owes you a duty of care, you move on to proving they breached this duty. Driving while intoxicated is a clear breach of duty.
Now, you’re down to the final two elements of negligence, causation and damages. You must show the defendant caused the accident and it’s directly responsible for your injuries and other damages. If you can show the defendant was negligent, there’s a possibility you may receive a punitive damage award.
Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
Since your case is heading to civil court, you really should work with an experienced personal injury lawyer. Your accident attorney can navigate the legal process and help ensure the court at least considers giving you a punitive damage award.
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