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Civil litigation aims to compensate those who have been wronged by others. Criminal litigation, on the other hand, is designed to punish wrongdoers. In certain circumstances, though, both objectives apply, and civil suit plaintiffs may recover punitive damages in addition to the standard compensatory award.
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Instead of reimbursing the claimant for economic and non-economic losses, punitive damages aim to punish the defendant for especially egregious behavior. They may also be awarded in an attempt to deter certain behaviors in the future.
Every successful personal injury claim will provide the plaintiff with compensatory damages; however, since excessive financial windfalls can incentivize litigation, including frivolous suits that waste the court’s time, punitive damages are only awarded on occasion, when the defendant’s actions were morally reprehensible.
Here’s what accident victims should know about recovering punitive damages in New York: Negligence Is Not Enough
To recover punitive damages in New York, plaintiffs must prove the defendant acted with complete disregard for their health or safety. Simple carelessness is not enough to warrant a punitive award. Instead, there must be clear evidence of willful and wanton negligence, which makes the standard of proof relatively high.
In various cases, the New York Court of Appeals has defined situations that may call for a punitive award. For example, in Ross v. Louise Wise Servs., Inc., they observed such damages are permissible when the defendant’s actions “evince a high degree of moral turpitude” and demonstrate a criminal indifference to their civil obligations. And in Chauca v. Abraham, the court established that plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages when the defendant’s actions exhibit willful or wanton negligence.
Since every case is different, there are no strict guidelines for determining if a particular claim warrants punitive damages; however, there are certain scenarios that are more likely to result in punitive awards than others.
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