When you suffer a loss or injury due to someone else’s wrongful actions, you can bring a grievance against them in civil court. If you can prove that the defendant was responsible for causing your loss or injury, the court may order them to pay you “damages.” The most common form of damages awarded in civil cases is compensatory damages. As the name suggests, these damages are meant to reimburse you for the negative impact, both economic and non-economic, that the loss or injury has on your life. Among other things, you may be compensated for things like medical bills, lost wages, lost property, pain, and suffering. If the impact on your life is small, a court might also award nominal damages, which act as a largely symbolic gesture acknowledging the harm done to you. Punitive damages are quite different. Rather than compensate plaintiffs, punitive damages are meant to “penalize, punish, or deter” defendants. They are also known as “exemplary damages” or “vindictive damages.” Georgia courts are also authorized to give additional damages — without labelling them as “punitive” — in cases involving aggravating circumstances to deter the defendant or “as compensation for the wounded feelings of the plaintiff.”
Courts are normally very hesitant to award punitive damages. Why? As one Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia explained in dissent, “We should not apply punitive damages where the law provides other measures by which society may punish wrongdoers.” Where criminal laws and prosecution are meant to punish wrongful actors for offenses against society itself, civil judgments are meant to resolve disputes between private individuals. To preserve this distinction, courts will only award punitive damages in cases involving serious misbehavior.
In personal injury cases, a plaintiff must normally prove their claim by a “preponderance of the evidence,” which basically means that the defendant’s culpability must be more likely than not. By contrast, prosecutors must prove their case against criminal defendants “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This higher standard of proof is meant to protect defendants from being wrongly convicted of a crime. The standard of proof required for an award of punitive damages lies somewhere in between these two extremes. This makes sense since punitive damages are awarded in civil cases but take on the character of a criminal sentence. The governing statute in Georgia provides as follows:
“Punitive damages may be awarded only . . . [if] it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s actions showed willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or that entire want of care which would raise the presumption of conscious indifference to consequences.”
Again, punitive damages may only be awarded in cases involving seriously irresponsible or reprehensible behavior. To illustrate, consider the following examples:
For a video presentation by Butler Kahn discussing an interesting case that resulted in an award of punitive damages to rapper and songwriter Cardi B, follow this link.
In most cases, yes. To prevent juries from awarding excessive punitive damages, the statutory cap is set at $250,000. However, this general rule comes with a few notable exceptions. They are as follows:
A helpful way to understand the difference between punitive damages and restitution is to think of each as the inverse of the other. That is, if punitive damages are awarded as punishment for defendants in civil cases, restitution is awarded as compensation for victims in criminal cases. For instance, if a criminal defendant makes money or gains valuable assets through their crime, courts can order the defendant to give up their ill-gotten gains by paying restitution to the crime victims.
Punitive damages can significantly raise the value of your personal injury claim. Though this form of damages is rarely awarded, it may be available in cases involving egregious misconduct by the defendant. The legal team at Butler Kahn is ready to thoroughly investigate your case and aggressively pursue the full and fair compensation you deserve, as well as punitive damages where possible. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer.