What Are Punitive Damages In Injury Claims?
In an injury case,a plaintiff will usually make a claim for damages which pertains to the financial losses incurred as a result of personal injury. However,a plaintiff is also allowed to claim for punitive damages. Punitive damages in most cases are meant to punish the guilty party but can also be related to the emotional or mental suffering of the plaintiff (-). Punitive damages are also referred to as noneconomic damages. It is therefore subject to to the evaluation of pain,suffering,affected companionship,emotional distress as well as inconvenience.
So What Are Punitive Damages in Injury Claims? The first purpose is to serve as a deterrent to the defendant from repeating the same reckless or negligent act,and secondly,it is to discourage other potential parties from committing the same or similar offenses.
Punitive damages also known as exemplary damages and they are usually awarded when a person endures pain and suffering,loss of enjoyment of life as well as emotional distress and so on. It is common in cases of premises liability,assaults and product liability cases. Unfortunately,punitive damages will likely not be awarded in contract cases such as those pertaining to coverage under an insurance contract. The only exception to this rule is that the plaintiff shows that the insurance company broke the good faith by using malicious behavior when breaching the contract.
In order to receive punitive damages,the plaintiff would have to prove that the manufacturer failed to remedy a defective product with a safe alternative in the case of product liability. This is much easier when the plaintiff works with a top-. If a plaintiff has relevant expert witnesses and testimonies from them,this will also help to boost the case when it comes to punitive damages.
Ultimately,there are limits to punitive damages. There is a specific formula that courts must abide by when calculating punitive damages and therefore punitive damages that are awarded cannot be unconstitutional or disproportionate or in other words unreasonable. So if you received a compensation for economic losses of $20,000,it would be unreasonable to expect $200,000 for punitive damages in the same case.
