Punitive damages are a form of compensation required to be paid on top of whatever regular damages a reckless driver owes an injured individual as punishment for the especially dangerous ways that they were driving to cause the accident. Become acquainted with the below information to learn more about how you could be awarded punitive damages in Chattanooga car accident cases, as well as the benefits of attaining the help of a professional car wreck lawyer for your case.
How Economic and Non-Economic Damages are Involved
When calculating car wreck damages in Chattanooga, the number of punitive damages that are considered appropriate are sometimes seen as a fraction of the number of compensatory damages, which includes the economic and non-economic damages. Some courts have found that the cases with very small compensatory damages cannot justify the award of large punitive damages because it violates the due process of the defendant who could not have expected to pay that many damages in a case with such low compensatory damages. But that is not always the case. Sometimes they are not closely connected. It just depends on the type of case and the particular conduct of the defendant.
Calculating Punitive Damages vs. Compensatory Damages
In comparison to calculating compensatory damages, punitive damages are focused much more on the defendant and how much the defendant is able to pay, as well as whether the defendant has made a profit based on their conduct in the case. If the defendant’s conduct that caused the injuries to the plaintiff, in this case, brought a profit to the defendant, how much was that profit? Punitive damages are less about the amount of the injury suffered by the plaintiff and much more about the ability to pay in economic circumstances of the defendant. There is no specific ratio for determining punitive damages in Chattanooga.
Circumstances Leading to Punitive Damages in Chattanooga Car Accident Cases
Circumstances that typically lead to punitive damages in a Chattanooga car accident case include, for example, driving under the influence of intoxicating substances, traveling at an extremely high rate of speed above the speed limit, and drag racing or running from a police. Other examples include if an individual is intentionally running red lights or stops signs and intentionally violating the rules of the road. Sometimes road rage incidents, intentionally running into a car, or trying to run a car off of the road. These factors influence the award of punitive damages in Chattanooga car accident cases.
Role of a Chattanooga Accident Attorney
An experienced lawyer can help in proving punitive damages in Chattanooga car accident cases by showing the danger of the defendant’s conduct to everybody on the road. This will help the jury see that the defendant was acting as if everybody else in the road was unimportant and whether they injured another did not matter to them. In the legal world, this is known as driving with a wanton disregard for the safety of others. While punitive damages are rarely awarded in Chattanooga like much of the rest of Tennessee, the chance of receiving them can potentially increase with the help of a weathered Chattanooga car accident attorney on your side. If you believe you have been injured by a reckless individual purposefully driving outside the rules of the road, call a seasoned Chattanooga car accident attorney today to set up your initial consultation.