In some situations, you may be able to recover punitive damages in your Jacksonville personal injury case. These damages are generally reserved for cases in which the defendant intentionally caused harm or engaged in gross negligence. Gross negligence is generally conduct that’s considered egregious. Punitive damages are rare in personal injury cases, but a Jacksonville personal injury lawyer will explain whether you could be entitled to them.
Whether or not you ultimately receive punitive damages, you should get fair compensation for all your economic and non-economic damages. Your attorney will work hard to see you receive all the money you deserve.
Examples of Situations Where You Might Be Entitled to Punitive Damages
Examples may help you understand how punitive damages work and whether you can recover compensation for them. Remember that punitive damages generally follow actions that are egregious or intentional, so you might be entitled to such damages if:
A Drunk Driver with a Lengthy History Of Impaired Driving Injures You
Someone might dismiss driving impaired one time as a mistake—definitely negligent, but perhaps not gross negligence. However, those who engage in a pattern of drunk driving:
- Show a callous disregard for others’ safety
- Indicate that they believe they are above the law (and the codes of good behavior that everyone in society should abide by)
- Regularly put others’ lives at risk
- Often cause direct harm to others through their gross negligence
Your Jacksonville drunk driving accident lawyer might rightfully believe the drunk driver needs a harsher punishment to deter them from continuing to drive drunk and injuring more victims in the future. For this reason, your lawyer would be within their rights to seek punitive damages on your behalf.
Someone Physically Assaults You
When someone physically assaults you, they engage in an intentional act that is likely to cause harm. That person may even cause disabling injuries, long-lasting trauma, and even the victim’s death.
Because intentionality is one standard for awarding punitive damages, an intentional physical attack is clearly a case in which punitive damages can be justified.
A Property Owner Engaged in a Pattern of Negligence (And You Became a Victim)
Property owners may engage in gross negligence if they knowingly or egregiously endanger others by:
- Performing shoddy “repairs”
- Covering up hazards rather than fixing them
- Failing to warn visitors of hazards they are well aware of
- Engaging in a pattern of endangering visitors, ultimately causing harm
If a negligent property owner harmed you, a Jacksonville premises liability lawyer from our team can examine the details of your case to determine whether the property owner’s failure to protect you from a hazard was routine negligence or possibly gross negligence. If the negligence was extreme, your personal injury attorney would likely seek punitive damages for you.
There are countless other examples in which a plaintiff may receive compensation in the form of punitive damages. Rather than giving you a laundry list of such examples, speak with an attorney from our team. They will give you a personalized evaluation of your circumstances, answer your questions, and explain whether you may qualify for both punitive and compensatory damages in your personal injury claim.
Florida Law Establishes a Clear Standard for Awarding Punitive Damages
Florida Statute §768.72 states that “clear and convincing evidence” that the liable party “was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence” must exist for a plaintiff to receive punitive damages.
The specificity of this statute means that:
- Personal injury attorneys have a clear standard for when they should seek punitive damages for their client.
- There is a clear threshold for proving a plaintiff deserves punitive damages—and not every personal injury claim will meet this threshold.
- Your attorney should be able to tell you whether they plan to seek punitive damages (once they’ve evaluated all relevant facts and information related to your case).
While punitive damages are appropriate in some situations, you don’t have to obtain punitive damages to get justice for the responsible party’s negligence.
Compensatory Damages that May Be Part of Your Personal Injury Case in Jacksonville
Most personal injury cases do not include punitive damages. Plaintiffs often receive significant financial recoveries nonetheless, as they may receive fair compensation for the following types of damages:
- Medical expenses, including any emergency services, imaging services, surgeries, medications, medical equipment, rehabilitation, and other treatment required because of someone’s negligent actions
- Pain and suffering, which can cover many non-economic damages, including emotional distress, mental anguish, lost quality of life, scarring and disfigurement, and physical pain
- Professional damages, including but not limited to lost income, diminished earning capacity, and lost performance bonuses
- Property damage expenses, like the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged vehicle after a car accident
Each client should share their unique story with an attorney. Your damages will be unique to you, and a personalized accounting of those damages is necessary. Only then can your attorney pursue a proper settlement for you.
How Your Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney May Secure Compensation for Your Damages
Our Jacksonville attorneys create unique case plans for each client. We don’t copy and paste when pursuing financial compensation for clients, but our legal team will typically:
- Seek evidence of the at-fault party’s negligence, as this will show someone else is responsible for your damages
- Document all recoverable damages, often using medical bills and records, expert testimony, financial records, and other types of documentation
- Fight for our clients’ total financial recoveries as if we were fighting for our loved ones
- Manage every detail of each case, allowing our clients to focus on healing
Punitive damages or no punitive damages, you deserve justice. That’s what we’ll seek for you.
Call The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine Today for Your Free Consultation About Hiring a Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine has been passionately representing victims of negligence, intentional harm, and gross negligence since 2005. Let a Jacksonville personal injury attorney from our team be your advocate.
Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for your free, no-risk consultation.
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