Compensatory &
Punitive Damages

The law recognizes two types of damage:

• Compensatory damages – (also called actual damages), which are objective losses or costs that can be listed and quantified, such as lost wages and medical bills, as well as subjective losses or harm, such as pain and suffering or loss of companionship.

• Punitive damages – (called special damages by some insurance companies and exemplary damages in the UK), which are awarded to the plaintiff, not as compensation for injury suffered, but as a punishment to the defendant.

Compensatory damages

These are the most commonly awarded damages, and include many items, such as:

• Medical costs

• Lost wages

• Pain and suffering

• Loss of consortium (in the case of a lost spouse)

• Loss of support and guidance (in the case of a lost parent)

• Loss of reputation

• Property damage

• Cost of home health care

• Funeral costs

Compensatory damages are awarded in wrongful death cases to the surviving spouse or children, or sometimes surviving parents.

Punitive damages

These are awarded only when the defendant is found to have been malicious or grossly negligent, and they’re meant to deter such behavior in others. They’re decided upon separately from the compensatory damages.

If you lost a loved one because of injury from a medication, for example, the jury might award punitive damages. It might be done as a warning to pharmaceutical companies to be more careful in thoroughly researching their drugs, or more truthful in advertising them.

If you’re grieving for a lost loved one, perhaps it would help if you obtained some answers from a good wrongful death attorney. Contact a personal injury attorney right away. We work on contingency, so you’ll owe us no fee unless and until we win an award for you.

We can assess your position, look into the circumstances that caused the death, represent you to the insurance companies and generally protect your interests while investigation is going on.

Please use this link for further information about wrongful death.

Wrongful death FAQs