South Florida Injury Attorneys Blog
When someone is injured in a Florida accident, the state’s law allows them to file a civil suit against the responsible party. If successful, plaintiffs may be able to recover monetary compensation to cover lost wages, pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, loss of consortium, and even funeral and burial expenses. This compensation is called compensatory damages. In some cases, plaintiffs can also file for what is called punitive damages. In contrast to compensatory, Florida punitive damages focus on punishing the defendant, rather than making the plaintiff whole.
Punitive damages are only available in a small percentage of cases, where the conduct of the defendant was particularly egregious. But when they are awarded, they can be set as high as $500,000. Thus, when they are sued, it is in the defendant’s best interest to ensure that the plaintiff does not seek punitive damages. Generally, Florida has two situations in which plaintiffs can receive punitive damages—when the plaintiff can prove either intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Intentional misconduct occurs when someone knows that their conduct was dangerous and could injure someone but did it anyway. Gross negligence occurs when someone, indifferent to the life and safety of others, acts extremely recklessly or carelessly.
Plaintiffs may sometimes want to amend their complaint to seek punitive damages after it has already been filed. Section 768.72(1) of the Florida Statutes does allow plaintiffs to do just that in cases where “there is a reasonable showing by evidence in the record or proffered by the claimant which would provide a reasonable basis for recovery of such damages.” Whether or not a trial court grants this amendment is very important to a case; the Florida Supreme Court held 25 years ago that appellate courts cannot review a lower court’s decision to allow an amendment to a suit to include punitive damages so long as the judge follows proper procedures.
For example, in a recent Florida Supreme Court case, a lower court allowed a plaintiff to seek punitive damages. Due to the existing precedent, the court was then unable to consider a defendant’s appeal and had to allow the lower court’s decision to stand, not even considering the “sufficiency of the evidence or the reasonableness of the trial court’s determination.” For Florida plaintiffs, this means that it is incredibly important to ensure that they present their case as best as possible in the lower court. An experienced personal injury attorney can help plaintiffs through this complicated process.
Call a Florida Personal Injury Attorney
If you have recently been injured in a Florida car accident, you may be entitled to both compensatory and punitive damages. However, the process of recovering these damages may be difficult and complicated, and you may be wondering if filing suit is even worth it. Let Frankl Kominsky, Personal Injury Lawyers, help. With years of experience representing Florida victims, our attorneys are well-versed in common barriers plaintiffs face and how to overcome them. We pride ourselves on excellent client representation and will passionately defend your legal rights at every step of the case. Contact us today to learn more and to schedule a free initial consultation at 561-708-5483. Calling is risk-free, as we will not bill you for our services unless we can help you recover for your injuries.