Punitive Damages

Punitive Damages

Introduction

Punitive damages also referred as exemplary damages, can be defined as the damages that are awarded in addition to the actual damages in certain circumstances. When the behavior of a defendant is found to be harmful, punitive damages as, punishments are awarded for their actions and so that these actions are not repeated in the future again that may cause harm to others also. Punitive damages are different from compensatory damages that are to reimburse for economic loss and physical injury that has been caused. For instance if a person is injured then in case of compensatory damages, items such as the medical bills of the victim and his hospital expenses will be covered., or if any other property damage has been caused. It is then the responsibility of the court to decide if the victim should be awarded with punitive damages above the compensatory damages to ensure that the behavior is not repeated. However these damages are not awarded in all the case, court needs to analyze the case thoroughly; these damages are particularly available in cases like some civil matters for instance tort and personal injury claims and criminal cases (Collin, 1998).

Discussion

To ensure that the matter is vigorous enough to be rewarded punitive punishment, court needs to look into several aspects and evaluate the case carefully. For any plaintiff to be considered as punitive damage it should be awarded some other type of damage such as, compensatory damages, as punitive damages cannot be rewarded alone. The action of the defendant that has caused damaged to occur must be done purposefully and should not be accidental.

These damages are usually rewarded if the applicant or the plaintiff has been harmed directly. Punitive damages must be awarded in an amount that is relatively proportionate to the actual damage. It is often difficult to for the courts to determine this proportion to award it as punitive damage. There is no specific amount that needs to be paid to cover the punitive damage to the plaintiff, but this does not mean that these applicants can demand and claim for as much amount as they want. Supreme courts have identified several principles and rules on the basis of which punitive damages can be calculated above the compensatory damages. One of these rules is that punitive damages should not exceed an amount that is four times the compensatory damage (Cameron, 2000). As ...