Punitive Damages In Personal Injury Cases: How A Personal Injury Attorney Can Help

If you suffered a severe injury in a Florida accident because of another party’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensatory damages. Depending on your case, you might even be entitled to punitive damages. In Florida personal injury cases, compensatory damages are the most common type of reward, whereas punitive damages are rarely awarded. Compensatory damages are designed to help an injured party recover what they have lost and will lose (if applicable) due to their injury. Generally, plaintiffs are awarded compensatory damages so they can return to the financial and emotional state they were in before their injury. Nevertheless, just because punitive damages are rarely awarded doesn’t mean they can’t be awarded.

When Are Punitive Damages Awarded?

As already mentioned, punitive damages are rarely awarded in Florida personal injury cases. This is because punitive damages are awarded to punish defendants, and personal injury awards are meant to compensate plaintiffs for the damages suffered and not to punish defendants. According to Florida Law, a court can only award punitive damages to a plaintiff if they present enough evidence showing a defendant was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Therefore, for you to recover punitive damages, you must identify the defendant’s behavior or conduct that was so reckless that the court must punish them to prevent others from acting the same way. This is where a personal injury attorney comes in.

How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Obtain an Award of Punitive Damages

If you sustained an injury because of another party’s fault and believe that the at-fault party is guilty of gross negligence or intentional misconduct, then retaining a personal injury attorney is of utmost importance. An experienced personal injury attorney can take the necessary steps to ensure you are awarded punitive damages if your case warrants such an award.

So, how exactly can a personal injury attorney help you obtain an award of punitive damages? A personal injury attorney can conduct extensive research to determine how your accident happened and if gross negligence or intentional misconduct was involved. An attorney can conduct their research using things such as witness testimonies and video footage recovered from traffic cameras or CCTV cameras. Because of their experience, you can trust that a personal injury attorney will know where to look for evidence. Your attorney will even involve professionals such as an accident reconstruction specialist or expert witness if they need to.

Personal injury cases are complicated enough. When you add punitive damages to a personal injury case, things only get more complicated. Because of this, you should not hesitate to retain a skilled personal injury attorney if you think you deserve an award of punitive damages.

Contact a Fort Myers Personal Injury Attorney for Help

At the Pendas Law Firm, we believe that people should be held responsible for their extreme negligence or reckless behavior. Our Fort Myers personal injury attorneys at The Pendas Law Firm can help you hold an at-fault party liable and obtain an award of punitive damages that matches the loss you have suffered. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

The Pendas Law Firm also represents clients in the Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami, Ocala, West Palm Beach, Bradenton, Daytona Beach, and Fort Lauderdale areas.

Resource:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0627/Sections/0627.737.html