How To Recover “Punitive Damages” In A California Personal Injury Case?

May 25, 2023

A defendant's actions in a personal injury case could be so outrageous that a jury gives the plaintiff additional compensation, known as punitive damages. Punitive damages account for significant payments in prominent jury rulings. Most personal injury claims, such as vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and slip-and-fall injuries, seek to compensate people who have been wrongfully hurt financially. Medical bills, property damage, lost income, and pain and suffering are among the damages that victims receive. Punitive damages are only granted under certain conditions described in Civil Code Section 3294. To qualify for punitive damages, you must show that the defendant engaged in oppression, fraud, or malice by providing clear and compelling evidence.

Oppression entails dreadful behavior that subjects you to terrible and unjust hardship. Fraud is deliberate deception for personal advantage. Malice is behavior motivated by malice or a conscious disregard for other people's rights and well-being.

Punitive Damages Explained

Punitive damages are also known as exemplary damages in California law.

Exemplary damages are awarded in addition to compensating an accident victim for medical bills, lost wages, other economic losses, and pain and suffering.

Exemplary damages seek to:

Punish the offender for excessively negligent or purposeful behavior.
Set a good example to discourage others from acting in such a heinous way as the defendant has.

The following are the five most important facts to understand about punitive damages in California:

You must request punitive damages from the court, but you cannot specify a sum.
In California, there is no standard method for calculating punitive damages. Still, variables like the severity of the defendant's behavior, the injury you sustained, and the defendant's financial condition are considered.
Punitive damages aim to discourage future misconduct, punish the defendant, and provide the victim with additional money in addition to ordinary and special damages.
Punitive damages are also known as exemplary damages.
Insurance policies do not cover punitive damages; as a result, defendants are usually personally liable for any punitive damages granted.

Courts often require the plaintiff to demonstrate that the defendant committed an intentional tort, like an assault, or showed a reckless disregard for the well-being of others through actions like driving with an exceptionally high blood-alcohol concentration or at speed much higher than the posted limit.

Although punitive damages are uncommon, they are often awarded in cases with intentional damage or extreme recklessness. In addition, punitive damages usually involve large quantities of money, and they do not just seek to punish the offender or delinquent but also to deter similar unacceptable conduct in the future.

While compensatory payments depend on the plaintiff's losses - including medical bills, diminished ability to earn a future wage, lost wages, and so on - punitive damages are centered on the defendant's wanton disregard for other people or the deplorable conduct displayed through their behavior.

General Damages vs. Punitive Damages

General or noneconomic damages are designed to reimburse the victim for intangible losses caused by the accident that cannot be measured by referring to receipts, bills, etc. Compensation for pain and suffering is a popular category of noneconomic damages. A victim could be paid for any suffering experienced during the event and any ongoing discomfort caused by the injury. Emotional anguish damages recompense the victim for the psychological trauma caused by the injury.

Loss of consortium refers to the damage caused by an injury to the injured person's ties with family. A husband, for example, can file for damages for loss of consortium in exchange for the loss of companionship, affection, or a sexual relationship if his wife sustains injuries in an accident. These forms of damages are particularly prevalent in wrongful death cases.

General damages might be ambiguous, making it difficult to identify an exact amount. If the case proceeds to trial, the jury decides how much general damages to award. If you and the defendant decide to settle your case out of court, you must agree on the ideal monetary settlement.

Punitive damages, often known as exemplary damages, are intended to punish the offender rather than pay the victim. In most personal injury situations, punitive damages are not possible. However, they could apply when the perpetrator's conduct is highly egregious, and the damage award has the potential to make an example of the perpetrator and function as a deterrent to future wrongdoing.

Punitive damages are typically awarded when the perpetrator engages in intentional behavior rather than mere negligence. According to California's Civil Code, punitive damages are only permissible in oppression, fraud, or malice cases. In addition, those acts of oppression, deception, or malice must be supported by clear and convincing evidence. This evidence is a higher threshold than a preponderance of the evidence, which is utilized in most personal injury cases.

Seeking a skilled attorney's assistance will help you understand damage awards in California and ensure justice is served.

When You Can Qualify For Punitive Damages

Punitive damages can be awarded by a jury in a courtroom trial under California Civil Code 3294 in personal injury cases. The defendant must be guilty of oppression, fraud, or malice through clear and convincing evidence to seek punitive damages. Alongside 'compensatory' damages, the claimant can "recover damages to set an example and to punish the defendant."

These definitions apply according to the California Civil Code 3294: "Malice" includes conduct planned by the defendant to inflict injury to the plaintiff or despicable behavior carried out by the accused with a willful and intentional disregard for the rights and safety of others. "Oppression" refers to heinous behavior that subjects a person to cruel or unjust hardship while consciously disregarding that person's rights. "Fraud" is the intentional misrepresentation, deception, or concealment of a substantial truth known to the perpetrator to deprive the victim of legal rights or property or cause an injury.

Clear And Convincing Evidence

The court will only award you compensatory damages, also known as actual damages, in a personal injury case in California if the victim proves all aspects of the claim. This means that the plaintiff must only demonstrate that every element of the claim is more likely true than not. Your attorney should also prove compensatory damages by showing that the elements of your claim are more likely to be true than not based on the available evidence.

Consider this scenario; you could be seeking compensation of $1 million for pain and suffering from a major vehicle accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this case, the court must quantify the impact of that injury on your whole quality of life. Alternatively, when claiming $500,000 for medical bills, the costs incurred due to the accident must be evident through tangible proof, like medical records, billing statements, etc.

However, when claiming punitive damages, the complainant must demonstrate malice, fraud, and oppression using clear and convincing evidence. To recover punitive damages, your attorney must provide clear and convincing evidence that the defendant's behaviors constituted malice, oppression, or fraud. There is no clear definition of clear and convincing evidence. One thing comes out clearly, though; clear and convincing evidence represents a higher burden of proof than a preponderance of the evidence.

Whether You Can Demand A Certain Amount When Seeking Punitive Damages

Either the claimant or the claimant’s attorney must specifically request punitive damages. However, setting a specific amount for punitive (also known as exemplary) damages is not an element of the process. After a request for punitive damages, the jury decides whether they should award the damages (and how much the total amount should be). However, it is not unusual for punitive and compensatory damages to be calculated concurrently in a trial.

Calculation Of Punitive Damages

No defined standard or formula is used when assessing the sum of punitive damages to be granted in a California personal injury lawsuit - including vehicle accidents, premises liability accidents, slips and falls, and others. When a jury decides how much punitive damage to award, the following factors are typically taken into account:

The severity or extent of the wrongdoer's heinous crimes or heinous behavior.
Whether there is a link between the amount of punitive damages that could be awarded and the overall harm suffered by the plaintiff (the victim's long-term impact).
Whether the sum of punitive damages given will act as a deterrent to the wrongdoer and

While there is no set standard for calculating punitive damages, numerous common factors are considered:

If the defendant inflicted bodily harm.
If the defendant was careless about the safety of others,
If the defendant was dishonest.
If the defendant took conscious advantage of the plaintiff.
If the defendant's acts were part of a pattern,
The gravity of the defendant's heinous behavior.
How much would be proportional to the actions?
What amount would be sufficient to punish and discourage the defendant from repeating the same violation in the future?
While a jury will want to ensure that the amount awarded is reasonable considering the defendant's financial situation, they will not impose higher damages merely because the defendant can pay.

Willful And Wanton Negligence

In most cases, courts will require you to pay punitive damages if you only engaged in ordinary negligence. Punitive damages could apply in cases of purposeful and wanton carelessness. One good example is the case of Donnelly v. Southern Pacific Co., in which the California Supreme Court determined that when a defendant acts "intentionally with an awareness that it is likely to cause harm," he/she could be subject to further punitive damages.

In normal cases of negligence, the person being sued could be unaware that their actions or inactions have the potential to cause harm. On the other hand, the defendant is aware of their acts' potential and probable repercussions in cases of deliberate and wanton carelessness. Punitive damages were given in cases where the offender acted reprehensibly and intentionally. While the defendant's conduct must be intentional, there are cases where the offender did not intend to cause harm but intentionally acted without regard for the potential damage. In these circumstances, a defendant's negligence. The United States Supreme Court declared in Colorado v. New Mexico, 467 U.S. 310 (1984), that solid and compelling evidence indicates the evidence is far more likely to be genuine than false. Simply put, the judge or jury has to be convinced that what the plaintiff claims occurred.

The Supreme Court in California ruled in Donnelly v. Southern Pacific Co., 18 Cal.2d 863 (1941), that willful and reckless wrongdoing warranted the imposition of punitive damages. According to the court, wanton and reckless misbehavior arise when a person who has "no intent to cause harm intentionally commits an act so unreasonable and dangerous that he or she knows, or ought to know, that it is highly likely that harm will occur."ence would almost certainly be deemed "willful and wanton."

The Process Of Seeking Punitive Damages In California

A plaintiff should specifically request punitive damages (also known as exemplary damages). However, the amount sought in a punitive damages lawsuit must not be specified in the request.

Punitive damages are often determined concurrently with the defendant's liability.

Alternatively, the defendant can request that the matter be "bifurcated" and tried independently.

If the trial is divided, the jury will not listen to any evidence of the defendant's profits or financial status until the following conditions are met:

The plaintiff prevails in the case.
The jury finds the defendant guilty of malice, oppression, or fraud.

Only after that will the jury review evidence about the defendant's finances and decide how much punitive damages to award. This avoids prejudice to the jurors.

Tips For Prevailing In Seeking Punitive Damages

A personal injury case filed in California would seek unspecified exemplary damages on top of compensatory damages, depending on the defendant's egregious behavior. Punitive damages are often examined in a separate hearing after a jury renders a verdict and awards compensatory damages.

A lawsuit would have to establish the heinous nature of the defendant's behavior and how it directly caused the injury you sustained. The language in the lawsuit should address the following questions that will ultimately be presented to a jury:

That the defendant acted maliciously, fraudulently, and/or oppressively.
That the defendant's actions caused you physical.
The defendant was careless about the health or safety of others.
The defendant was aware of and exploited your.
That a fair award of exemplary damages can punish the defendant for his outrageous and inappropriate actions and serve to discourage others from committing a similar violation.

Punitive damages are not common in personal injury cases. Usually, they are paid only if a jury awards compensatory damages. The vast majority of personal injury claims are settled out of court through talks that result in compensation but no admission of the sort of culpability that punitive damages are intended to address.

In most cases where punitive damages are awarded, the defendant's egregious actions and the substantial injury it has caused are obvious from the start. In other circumstances, a probe reveals an obvious lie that was previously unbeknownst to anyone other than those directly involved.

Whether There Is A Cap On Punitive Damages

Unlike in some U.S. jurisdictions, California law does limit the total amount of punitive damages that could be awarded in a personal injury case.

However, the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause prohibits the imposition of grossly excessive punitive damages or arbitrary punishments. According to the United States Supreme Court, punitive damages must exhibit a reasonable relationship to compensatory damages granted to the plaintiff. The multiplier increases with the severity of the behavior.

For example, the court could award you $2 million in compensatory damages for an auto accident. This could be compensation for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. If the jury awards you $50 million in punitive damages, this would be imprudent.

Situations Where Punitive Damages Can Be Awarded

Personal injury victims in California could be entitled to punitive monetary damages if their injuries are the consequence of:

Vehicle crashes caused by a driver who is high on drugs or alcohol.
Battery and assault.
Sexual assault.
Wrongful termination.
Intentional cause of mental anguish.
Felony murder.
Medical malpractice.

Punitive Damages In A Wrongful Death Claim

California law prohibits the recovery of punitive damages in most wrongful death instances. However, there is an exception to this provision; when the offender has been convicted of felony murder.

With a survivorship claim, punitive damages could be awarded. Punitive damages could be awarded to the decedent's personal representative or successor under California Code of Civil Procedure 377.34 if the decedent could have been entitled to them if they survived.

Find a San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

If you suffer injuries because of another person’s negligence or if you were in an accident but were not entirely to blame for it, you could be eligible to file a civil case and get a monetary award for your losses. The San Diego Personal Injury Law Firm is a renowned California personal injury firm that represents clients seeking punitive damages. In all relevant circumstances, we pursue punitive damages for our clients. We will fight so that you receive the maximum financial compensation you require to recover your physical, mental, and financial well-being. Call us at 619-478-4059 to speak to one of our attorneys.