There are two basic categories of damages involved in a personal injury case: compensatory damages, and punitive damages. There is a difference between the two. Compensatory damages are those intended to compensate you for injuries you can prove resulted from the other party's negligence. Typically, these damages will be the costs of your medical treatment (both past and future), your lost wages (past and future, including vacation and sick leave you may have had to use), and your past, present and future pain and suffering. So-called hedonistic damages may be awarded as compensation in some cases, where you can prove that the injuries you sustained in the accident have prevented you from engaging in some worthwhile or pleasurable activity to which no exact monetary amount can be calculated. Punitive damages are a completely different animal. The evidence in every case may not warrant an award of punitive damages because they are not intended to compensate, but to punish the other party and serve to deter others from engaging in the same type of conduct of the other party. At minimum, to establish the right to punitive damages the evidence must show the other party acted so recklessly or dangerously in a manner that demonstrates that he or she did not care if anyone was injured as a result. Virginia law does entitle a person injured by a drunk driver to ask the jury for punitive damages if the other driver's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) was 0.15 or above; however, in drunk driving cases, it may be possible to get a punitive damages instruction even if the defendant's BAC was less than that amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

 


Q: What are "punitive damages?"

A: There are two basic categories of damages involved in a personal injury case: compensatory damages, and punitive damages. There is a difference between the two.

Compensatory damages are those intended to compensate you for injuries you can prove resulted from the other party's negligence. Typically, these damages will be the costs of your medical treatment (both past and future), your lost wages (past and future, including vacation and sick leave you may have had to use), and your past, present and future pain and suffering. So-called "hedonistic" damages may be awarded as compensation in some cases, where you can prove that the injuries you sustained in the accident have prevented you from engaging in some worthwhile or pleasurable activity to which no exact monetary amount can be calculated.

Punitive damages are a completely different animal. The evidence in every case may not warrant an award of punitive damages because they are not intended to compensate, but to punish the other party and serve to deter others from engaging in the same type of conduct of the other party. At minimum, to establish the right to punitive damages the evidence must show the other party acted so recklessly or dangerously in a manner that demonstrates that he or she did not care if anyone was injured as a result.

Virginia law does entitle a person injured by a drunk driver to ask the jury for punitive damages if the other driver's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) was 0.15 or above; however, in drunk driving cases, it may be possible to get a punitive damages instruction even if the defendant's BAC was less than that amount.


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