Can I Seek Punitive Damages in My Personal Injury Case?
After a serious personal injury in Poway caused by another party’s negligence or wrongdoing, it is important to think about your options for seeking compensation. Depending on the nature of the accident or injury, you might begin by filing an insurance claim or immediately consider a civil lawsuit against the liable party. When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you will be seeking a civil remedy. What this means is that you will be asking the court to award you monetary damages, in most cases, to compensate you for the losses that you have experienced. These damages come in different forms, including two types of “compensatory” damages, known as economic and non-economic damages. There is also a type of damages award known as “punitive” damages.
Our Poway personal injury lawyers can explain, and we are here to help you with your case when you are ready.
Understanding Compensatory Versus Punitive Damages
Nearly all personal injury cases will seek compensatory damages, which are aimed at compensating a plaintiff for their losses. Most plaintiffs will seek both economic and non-economic damages, and usually, these will be sufficient to cover losses experienced (while recognizing, of course, that money alone can never fully undo the harm you have experienced). Economic damages compensate for monetary losses (such as your hospital bills or your lost wages because of how your injury prevented you from working). Non-economic damages compensate for losses that are subjective or intangible (such as your pain and suffering, your loss of enjoyment of life, or the humiliation you have experienced because of your disfigurement).
Now, punitive damages are quite different. While these are aimed at punishing a defendant — rather than compensating a plaintiff, as the name suggests — they are only available in limited cases where the defendant’s actions were so egregious that California law imagined a punitive remedy was necessary.
When Punitive Damages Can Be Awarded
California courts have made clear that the “primary purposes of punitive damages are punishment and deterrence of like conduct by the wrongdoer and others.” Like compensatory damages, these damages are often paid to a plaintiff, but their intention is different. California law only permits these damages to be awarded in limited circumstances, and our Poway personal injury lawyers can tell you the circumstances under which such damages can be awarded.
According to the California Civil Jury Instructions, punitive damages can be awarded “only if [the plaintiff] proves by clear and convincing evidence that [the defendant] engaged in that conduct with malice, oppression, or fraud.” The instructions clarify that this means the court must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that one of the following is true:
- Defendant acted with intent to cause harm or was “despicable and was done with a willful and knowing disregard of the rights or safety of another”;
- Defendant’s actions were “despicable and subjected [the plaintiff] to cruel and unjust hardship in knowing disregard of [the plaintiff’s] rights; or
- Defendant “intentionally misrepresented or concealed a material fact and did so intending to harm [the plaintiff].”
Contact a Poway Personal Injury Lawyer
If you are especially angry at the wrongdoing or recklessness of the defendant, you might think that you want to seek punitive damages in your Poway personal injury case in order to punish the defendant. While punitive damages may be possible, it is important to know that these are not common types of damages sought in personal injury cases in California. One of our Poway personal injury attorneys can help you to seek just compensation for your losses. Contact North County Injury Lawyers today.
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