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This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.
Punitive or exemplary damages only make up around 5% of all successful personal injury lawsuit demands. Punitive damages are not the same as compensatory damages. Compensatory damages reimburse the plaintiff for financial loss, as well as pain and suffering.
Punitive damages also reimburse the plaintiff but double as punishment for the defendant. Nevada, like many states, allows plaintiffs to sue for punitive damages. However, Nevada caps punitive damages in personal injury cases. This limitation means that the plaintiff’s demands cannot be excessive to the point where they financially destroy the defendant.
When Can You Sue for Punitive Damages in Nevada?
Even though there is a cap on punitive damages, you can still sue for them in Nevada. Still, you can only do this if you prove the defendant acted maliciously, causing your injury. This also applies if you can prove fraudulent or oppressive behavior.
Oppression refers to a person behaving cruelly toward a plaintiff without regard for their rights or well-being.
Fraudulent behavior means deceiving, concealing, or misrepresenting people and facts to potentially harm a plaintiff or deprive them of their own property.
Malice is characterized by hatred or spite and driven by a desire to physically or emotionally harm a plaintiff with little regard for their safety.
The so-called burden of proof is higher than the standard for negligence in personal injury cases. This means if you are pursuing compensatory damages, you must prove the defendant breached their assumed care of duty, leading to your injury.
To claim punitive damages, you must have undisputable proof that the defendant’s actions arose from oppression, fraud, or malice.
Several types of scenarios may warrant punitive damages. These include the following:
- Drunk driving accidents: If a driver insists on driving while intoxicated, the situation could lead to serious injury for the driver and other road users.
If you sustain injuries because of a drunk driver, you can sue for punitive damages because of the driver’s malicious actions. It would fall under malicious behavior because of the conscious disregard for your safety and that of others.
- Medical malpractice: If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being misdiagnosed or undergoing unnecessary surgery, the surgeon’s actions may be seen as fraudulent or malicious. This is another acceptable reason to sue for punitive damages.
- Product liability: The same goes for defective products. If a product manufacturer knows that a product could cause severe harm and sells it anyway, their actions may be seen as oppressive. If you are injured when using a defective product, you have grounds for filing a punitive damages case.
Remember that not all personal injury cases will follow these examples. There are dozens, if not hundreds, more scenarios that may warrant punitive damages.
If you are unsure whether your injury or damages are severe enough to file this type of case, consult a personal injury lawyer. Your lawyer will assess your situation and advise whether punitive damages are an option.
Suing for Punitive Damages in Nevada
If your lawyer confirms that you can sue for punitive damages, you must follow specific steps.
First, you have to file an official personal injury lawsuit against the party or organization responsible for your injuries. Your complaint must detail the nature of your injury and the defendant’s negligence.
In other words, it must show the link between the defendant’s malicious, fraudulent, or oppressive actions and your injury. If there is property damage, you must show this in your complaint as well.
Also, you must make your intent to seek punitive damages clear. When the defendant knows what you want to sue for, they have time to prepare a defense. The defendant’s insurance company and the court must hear both sides of the story so the defendant will present a defense against your case.
The most important part of your legal case is gathering the evidence proving that the defendant’s actions led to your injury or property damage.
If you are suing a company for a defective product, there may be internal company documents that reveal safety hazards. This is not always the case, but with this type of evidence, you can devastate the defendant’s case.
There have been cases where companies tried to conceal the fact that they knew about a product’s safety issues before selling it. If this is the case in your situation, it would mean the company prioritized profit over safety, resulting in a higher payout in some instances.
If your claim centers on medical malpractice, you must get a medical expert to testify. Medical professionals can confirm whether the doctor or surgeon’s actions deviated from the typical standard of care.
Should you want to claim punitive damages after a car accident, eyewitnesses can provide valuable testimony about what happened before, during, and after the accident. If there was reckless or drunk driving, this will all come out in these testimonies and the official police report.
Nevada’s Cap on Punitive Damages
As mentioned above, Nevada decided to cap punitive damages back in 2003. The cap is not straightforward but tiered. This means the maximum punitive damage award will vary depending on the amount of compensatory damages awarded. (Compensatory and punitive damages usually go together).
So, if the compensatory damages are less than $100,000, punitive damages get capped at $300,000.
The cap limit is three times the amount if the compensatory damages are $100,000 or more.
There are some exceptions to this tiered cap. These may include intentional torts or wrongful death cases.
Furthermore, if you do not want to go as far as punitive damages, you could look into maximizing your compensatory damages claim. This means you would ask for more money in your compensatory damages claim instead of suing for compensatory and punitive damages.
However, if you sustained an injury after using a defective product, you can sue for any amount of punitive damages. This also applies if your insurance provider does not want to pay out a specific claim. This is because the cap does not apply in these instances.
Only Sue for Punitive Damages If It Makes Sense
It is crucial to weigh the pros and cons before filing a punitive damages case. Also, punitive damages lawsuits usually take much longer to resolve than compensatory damages cases. Allow your lawyer to advise you on the best option for your situation so that you can make the best decisions.
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