Victims of drunk driving accidents are generally permitted to seek damages from the individual responsible for the injuries sustained. In personal injury cases, such compensation is known as damages. There are several things that injured individuals need to know regarding potential compensatory and punitive damages.
Compensatory Damages in Drunk Driving Cases
In personal injury cases, compensatory damages are typically awarded to provide accident victims with compensation for the injuries and losses sustained as a result of the drunk driver’s actions. Such damages include monetary amounts for medical costs, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, emotional distress, pain and suffering and property damage.
Punitive Damages Might Also Be Available
Punitive damages, as its name suggests, are awarded as a way to punish the drunk driver for his or her bad acts. They are intended to deter others from participating in similar reckless actions. However, not every state permits punitive damages. Florida is one of the states that does provide for such damages, but only in certain circumstances.
For an injured individual to be granted punitive damages, he or she must demonstrate that the person who harmed them was either grossly negligent or they engaged in intentional misconduct. Gross negligence generally stems from someone behaving in such a careless or reckless manner that the behavior on its own demonstrates that the individual was indifferent to the other person’s safety. Intentional misconduct is simply when a person knows that their dangerous behavior was likely to cause injuries.
What Do Juries and Judges Consider When Awarding Punitive Damages?
In cases where punitive damages are sought, jurors are given instructions and asked to find that the person either acted in a way that was so egregious that it demonstrated a total disregard for human life or safety; or showed an indifference toward the consequences of his or her actions and/or a complete lack of care; or participated in actions that showed a :reckless or wanton disregard for public welfare;” or he or she was so recklessly indifferent to the rights of others that it was as if they acted intentionally to violate those rights.
Florida courts have previously ruled that the voluntary act of getting into the driver’s seat of a vehicle while intoxicated by drugs and/or alcohol is sufficiently reckless to call for punitive damages. If you are wondering about the amount or type of damages that may be available for your specific situation, speak with a DUI accident attorney.
