Punitive damages, or exemplary damages, are intended to specifically punish the defendant when their conduct was particularly egregious. While rare, punitive damages can be awarded in personal injury or medical malpractice cases.
Even though punitive damages are infrequent, they’re still possible in personal injury cases. If you’re navigating a personal injury case, it’s important to know what constitutes punitive damages.
Read on to learn more about what punitive damages are and their limits in certain states.
What Are Punitive Damages?
Typically, if you win a settlement or court award, you receive compensatory damages to compensate for actual losses, such as:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage
- Future treatment for injuries
- Related expenses
- Reduced earning potential
- Pain and suffering
However, punitive damages represent an additional penalty and can exceed the compensatory damages.
Punitive damages are essentially a fine for the defendant. They are paid to the plaintiff in addition to compensatory damages in cases where the defendant acted in an egregious manner and compensatory damages would be an inadequate award.
Punitive damages are typically awarded to set a public example and to dissuade the defendant and others from behaving in a particular way in the future. The amount of punitive damages is determined by the jury’s discretion.
When Are Punitive Damages Awarded?
Punitive damages are reserved for situations of extreme negligence or maliciousness, or when the defendant acted intentionally despite knowing injuries would be likely. In order to gain evidence of intentional malice, prosecutors look for:
- Oppression: The plaintiff was subjected to cruel and unjust hardship
- Wantonness: A conscious and reckless disregard for the safety and rights of others
- Malice: Intentional wrongful act without just cause
- Fraud: Intentional misrepresentation, deceit, or concealment of a material fact which was oppressive or malicious and committed with the intention to deprive the plaintiff of their property or legal rights
In personal injury cases, punitive damages are typically awarded in cases of:
Wrongful Death/Medical Malpractice (Most Common)
Most commonly, personal injury punitive damages are awarded in wrongful death cases. If a patient dies because a doctor, clinic, or hospital is negligent or delivers substandard care, punitive damages can be awarded to the victim’s loved ones.
Driving Under the Influence
When an intoxicated driver intentionally gets behind the wheel and injures or kills a person, this may result in punitive damages being awarded in some states.
Intentional Car Accident
If a driver intentionally hits another car, pedestrian, motorcyclist, or bicyclist with their vehicle, this is a type of personal injury case that could see punitive damages in some states.
Knowingly Selling a Defective Product
When someone lists a defective product for sale that is likely to hurt or kill someone—whether it’s a defective automobile or medical device, punitive damages may be awarded in a personal injury case.
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Limits to Punitive Damages
In many states, there are limits on the amount of punitive damages awards. For example, some states limit punitive damages to a percentage of the defendant’s net worth. Other states declare that the damages may not be more than two or three times the amount of compensatory damages. Corporate or otherwise wealthy defendants usually face higher punitive damage awards than less wealthy defendants.
Under Alabama law, punitive damages cannot exceed three times the amount a jury awards for compensatory damages or $1.5 million—whichever is greater. However, if the defendant intentionally hid or destroyed evidence or knowingly committed fraud, the cap no longer applies.
In Alabama, punitive damages are most commonly awarded in wrongful death cases. However, there are no restrictions on the types of cases that can award punitive damages.
Tennessee law imposes a statutory cap, meaning the amount awarded for punitive damages cannot exceed two times the total amount of compensatory damages, or $500,000, whichever is greater. However, this statutory cap does not apply if the defendant:
- Intended to harm the plaintiff
- Was motivated by financial gain and knowingly disregarded an unreasonable risk
- Was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs which substantially impaired the defendant’s judgment
Generally, punitive damages in Florida have a cap of three times the amount of compensatory damages, or $500,000, whichever is greater. Similar to Tennessee, if the defendant’s actions were driven solely by financial gain, and the potential harm was undoubtedly known by the defendant, the cap may be increased to four times the amount of compensatory damages or $2 million, whichever is greater.
In Florida, there is no limit to punitive damages in cases of intentional contact performed with the specific intent to harm the victim.
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