When Can You Get Punitive Damages in a Personal Injury Case?

Most personal injury cases end with compensation to the injured party for actual losses caused by another’s negligence. However, in some cases, the defendant’s conduct is deliberate or so reckless that courts allow a large punitive award to punish the conduct and deter future wrongdoing. While these awards are rare and difficult to win (and limited by law), some cases warrant this type of award.

If you or a loved one is involved in a personal injury matter, contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you through the entire case. They can explain whether your situation calls for punitive damages.

Punitive vs. Compensatory Damages: Understanding the Difference

In a personal injury case, several types of damages may be available, depending on the circumstances. They each serve different purposes.

Compensatory Damages Make You Whole

Compensatory damages restore an injured person, as much as money can, to their position before the injury. Although money cannot compensate for all injuries, it may be the only way to recover actual damages.

Several types of damages are considered compensatory. These include:

• Economic damages. Medical bills, future medical expenses and treatment costs, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, and property damage.
• Non-economic damages. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life.

These economic and non-economic damages are available to most successful personal injury claimants.

Punitive Damages: Punish and Deter

Punitive damages serve a different purpose than compensatory damages, which focus on the victim’s losses. Punitive damages focus on the wrongdoer’s conduct and serve to punish the wrongdoer and discourage the defendant (and others) from engaging in similar conduct.

Punitive damages are non-compensatory and usually arise from reckless disregard or intentional conduct that causes harm. The underlying policy supporting punitive damages balances deterrence, fairness, and predictability in punitive-damage awards.

A court will generally only award punitive damages if the plaintiff is successful in their claim for compensatory damages. These damages are not automatic, and courts award them in only a small share of personal injury cases.

High Evidentiary Standards: What You Must Prove

Most civil cases require the plaintiff to prove the case by a “preponderance of the evidence” standard, meaning more likely than not.

Many states, however, require “clear and convincing evidence” for punitive damages. This requires the plaintiff’s evidence to meet a higher standard of proof. It must be substantially more likely to be true than not. Simple negligence, mistakes, or oversights do not qualify for punitive damages — even if they result in serious injury.

Types of Conduct That May Qualify

Certain defendant behavior may qualify for punitive damages:

• Gross negligence. A conscious, extreme disregard for others’ safety. This requires the act to go beyond a simple lapse in judgment.
• Malice. Acting with intent to harm, or with spite or ill will toward the victim.
• Fraud. Deliberately hiding or misrepresenting facts, such as concealing a known product defect.
• Intentional conduct. Knowing that harm is likely and choosing to act anyway.

Examples That May Qualify for Punitive Damages

Conduct that usually supports only compensatory damages does not qualify for punitive damages. Punitive damages require conduct far more serious than mere negligence.

Actions such as the following are classic examples where punitive damages may be warranted if the plaintiff meets the required burden of proof.

Drunk Driving Accidents

Actions like choosing to drive after consuming large quantities of alcohol show a conscious disregard for public safety. Some states specifically allow punitive damages in DUI cases.

Others, such as Georgia, remove their usual cap on punitive damages when the defendant was a drunk driver. Factors that can strengthen a punitive damages claim include:

• An extremely high blood alcohol level
• Prior DUI convictions
• Fleeing the scene after the accident

Willful Corporate Safety Violations

Punitive damages can be especially effective against corporate clients, who would garner publicity (the deterrence effect) and are more likely to be able to satisfy the large judgments.

Willful corporate safety violations can arise when a company knows a product is dangerous but decides a recall would cost more than potential personal injury lawsuits. It may also occur when a business repeatedly ignores safety regulations or inspectors’ warnings.

A well-known example is the Ford Pinto case (Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co.). In that 1981 case, evidence showed that Ford knew the fuel tank posed a risk. It proceeded with the flawed design anyway.

Ford’s management decided to proceed with production of the Pinto, knowing the gas tank was vulnerable to puncture and rupture at low rear-impact speeds, creating a significant risk of death or injury from fire, and knowing that “fixes” were feasible at nominal cost. Evidence showed that the cost-benefit decision led them to ignore an issue that could have saved lives to save money. This case resulted in a large punitive award against Ford.

How Evidence for Punitive Damages Is Gathered

Evidence in a personal injury claim alleging punitive damages requires more than the proof needed in a case of ordinary negligence.

In addition to a different standard of proof required (“clear and convincing vs. more likely than not), the type of proof also varies, though it often overlaps with the evidence required to prove mere negligence in the underlying claim for damages.

For example, in a drunk-driving punitive damages case, the plaintiff may need to present police reports, toxicology results, and criminal records to support the case. In a case alleging punitive damages against a company, the plaintiff may need internal company documents, e-mails, and safety audits to support their case. In many cases, plaintiffs will have witness and expert testimony to strengthen their position.

Working with an experienced personal injury lawyer can help uncover what the defendant knew and when, which is critical in cases alleging the defendant should have known a certain action would likely result in a particular type of injury.

State-Imposed Caps and Restrictions on Punitive Damages

Over the years, concerns about excessive punitive damage awards have led many states to address the issue. Lawmakers wanted to prevent unpredictable, excessive awards and balance fairness to defendants.

Rules vary widely by state, so where you file your case may affect whether punitive damages are available. Even states with limits can recognize exceptions, and caps may not apply when the defendant’s conduct involved intentional wrongdoing, felony-level behavior, or impairment by drugs or alcohol.

Other cases, such as environmental-violation cases and product-liability matters, often have similar carve-outs, allowing unlimited punitive awards when the misconduct is especially egregious. A personal injury attorney can help you work through all strategic decisions relating to your case.

Common Limits on Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are subject to limitations imposed by state law and constitutional limitations. State laws fall into several general categories, but each state has its own specific rules or statutes.

Fixed Dollar Caps

Almost half of states maintain statutory punitive damage caps, generally ranging from $250,000 to $2 million. In contrast, most states have no statutory caps (relying instead on federal due process and common-law limits).

For example, Georgia generally caps punitive damages at just $250,000, with exceptions for product liability, intent to harm, and impairment.

Ratio Caps

Ratio-based systems multiply compensatory damages, usually by a factor of 2:1 to 4:1. For example, Colorado generally limits punitive damages to the amount of compensatory damages (1:1), while Ohio generally caps them at twice compensatory damages.

Hybrid Caps

A punitive damage system that takes a hybrid approach generally applies whichever figure (fixed amount or ratio) leads to the greater award. For example, Texas limits awards to the greater of $200,000 or two times economic damages, plus non-economic damages, up to $750,000. Florida generally limits awards to the greater of three times compensatory damages or $500,000, with higher limits for certain conduct outlined in the statute.

Outright Restrictions

Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Washington do not allow for punitive damages. Louisiana, Washington, and Massachusetts allow them, but only when a statute specifically authorizes them.

Split-Recovery Rules

Some states, such as Indiana and Georgia, direct part of a punitive damages award to a state fund instead of to the plaintiff in certain cases.

Several states prohibit punitive damage caps altogether. Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming have constitutional provisions that expressly forbid limits on damages. Other jurisdictions, including Missouri, Ohio, and Oregon, have struck down caps through decisions from their state’s highest court.

Constitutional Limits on Punitive Damages

Beyond caps on punitive damages that some states impose, the Supreme Court of the United States has also weighed in on what constitutes excessive punitive damages. The Court ruled that grossly excessive awards violate the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution.

In BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore (1996) and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell (2003), the Court identified three “guideposts” for determining whether a punitive award satisfies due process requirements.

To determine what is considered excessive, courts consider:

• How reprehensible the conduct was
• The ratio of the punitive damages to compensatory damages
• Penalties awarded (and upheld) in similar cases

The Court has suggested that once punitive damages exceed the single digits, they will rarely survive review. The law continues to evolve, and caps and exceptions to damages caps change through new court rulings and legislation.

States can impose stricter limits, but they cannot authorize awards that violate federal due process standards. An experienced personal injury attorney in your area can explain which laws apply to your case.

Injured by Someone’s Reckless or Deliberate Conduct?

If someone’s reckless or deliberate conduct injured you, speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer. Use the Super Lawyers directory to find an attorney in your local area.