When filing a lawsuit, you may claim various damages related to your injuries, costs, losses, and even painful experiences. Among these may be punitive damages, which are designed to punish defendants rather than compensate for any specific loss. While punitive damages may be available in some cases, they tend to be rare.
Generally, punitive damages may be available in a wide variety of injury cases. However, these damages are rarely awarded, and you should talk about the likelihood of receiving such damages with your attorney. Punitive damages may be available in cases where defendants caused injuries through malice, fraud, or gross negligence. We must have strong evidence to back up your claims, as the burden of proof for punitive damages is quite high.
Ask our Austin, TX personal injury lawyers for a free, confidential case review by calling Cap City Injury Attorneys at (512) 612-3110.
When You Can Sue for Punitive Damages in Texas
Punitive damages are not always available, but that does not mean that a plaintiff cannot at least try to claim them.
You may try to claim punitive damages in almost any personal injury case. Whether your case is determined to be eligible for punitive damages might be a different story. These damages are rarely awarded, and courts may heavily scrutinize your claims.
Punitive, also called exemplary damages, are available only under certain conditions. According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003(a), exemplary damages may be awarded only if a plaintiff proves that the defendant caused their injuries through malice, fraud, or gross negligence.
Cases involving ordinary negligence may not be eligible for exemplary damages.
Requirements to Sue for Punitive Damages in Texas
Not everyone is able to claim punitive or exemplary damages successfully. Remember, these damages may only be awarded in cases where the defendant causes injuries through means that amount to fraud, malice, or gross negligence.
According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.004, courts will only award punitive or exemplary damages if the plaintiff is also awarded damages other than nominal damages. Put another way, you must be awarded some form of compensatory damages, whether they’re economic damages, non-economic damages, or both.
Not only that, but you cannot be awarded punitive damages if you elect to have your recovery multiplied according to another statute.
What Are Punitive Damages?
Exemplary or punitive damages are an entirely separate category of damages. These damages are not meant to compensate plaintiffs for their costs, losses, or injuries. Instead, these damages are meant to serve as a punishment or penalty for defendants.
This is a big reason why these damages are only available under very limited circumstances. The idea is that plaintiffs do not actually need these damages, but they are awarded to punish the defendant and deter future bad actions.
Punitive damages may be more likely in cases where the court finds that the defendant’s actions are not just shocking or outrageous, but also a threat to public safety or interests. Awarding punitive damages may deter the defendant and others from acting this way in the future.
How Do Courts Determine if Punitive Damages Should Be Awarded?
The court may award punitive damages only if our Texas persona injury attorneys can meet the burden of proof.
The burden of proof for punitive damages is separate from the burden of proof for the overall personal injury case. Even if we do not satisfy the burden of proof for punitive damages, we may still satisfy the burden for the overall case and win other damages.
According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.003(b), we must prove our claims for punitive or exemplary damages by “clear and convincing evidence.” This is a much higher burden of proof than that for personal injury claims, which is a “preponderance of the evidence.”
Clear and convincing evidence requires presenting enough evidence to create a much greater sense of certainty in the trier of fact. This is a difficult burden to meet, making punitive damages relatively rare.
Evidence We Need to Prove Claims for Punitive Damages in Texas
To meet our burden of proof for punitive or exemplary damages, we need as much evidence as possible. More specifically, we must have evidence that demonstrates how the defendant acted with malice, fraud, or committed gross negligence.
Many cases involving punitive damages involve defendants whose behavior is quite shocking. We may need evidence demonstrating why the defendant’s behavior is so outrageous. This might involve proof that the defendant knew their actions would likely cause serious injuries to others but proceeded anyway.
We might instead need evidence of the defendant’s malice or evil intent. If they caused your injuries on purpose, we must prove it. Perhaps they documented their plans to harm you somewhere. If we can get those documents or recordings (e.g., emails, texts, journal entries), we may have a stronger claim for punitive damages.
How Valuable Are Punitive Damages in Texas?
Punitive or exemplary damages have a reputation for being substantial. Often, courts want to make extremely bad behavior very expensive, thus deterring it from happening again. Even so, punitive damages may be limited.
According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.008(b), exemplary damages are limited in two ways, giving you whichever result is greater. First, exemplary damages may not exceed twice the value of your economic damages plus a sum equal to non-economic damages, not to be greater than $750,000. Second and alternatively, exemplary damages may be limited to $200,000.
Juries are not to be informed of these limits before they deliberate. As such, the jury might return with an award that greatly exceeds these limits. In such cases, the court may intervene and reduce the award to the maximum amount allowable, barring specific circumstances.
Contact Our Texas Personal Injury Attorneys Now
Ask our Round Rock, TX personal injury lawyers for a free, confidential case review by calling Cap City Injury Attorneys at (512) 612-3110.