Illinois personal injury laws provide for compensatory damages when someone causes you harm or injury. For example, you can recover economic damages for medical bills, out-of-pocket expenses, and lost wages. You can also recover non-economic damages for your pain and suffering. In a few cases, juries may award punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.
What Are Punitive Damages?
Economic and non-economic damages are intended to compensate you for actual losses and harm. However, punitive damages are different. Juries award punitive damages to “punish” the at-fault party for their actions. Punitive damages are also awarded to discourage the at-fault party and others from engaging in the same type of wrongdoing.
What Are the Rules for Awarding Punitive Damages in an Illinois Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Punitive damages are only awarded in specific types of cases. Illinois law states that punitive damages can be awarded in cases based on negligence or product liability. However, the plaintiff must have sustained bodily injury or physical damage to property to receive an award for punitive damages.
Jurors must find that the defendant’s actions met one of two criteria:
- The defendant acted with an evil motive, OR
- The defendant acted with an outrageous and reckless indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm and with a conscious lack of concern for the safety and rights of others
Punitive damages also require a higher level of proof than compensatory damages. You must prove the above criteria by clear and convincing evidence. That means the jurors believe there is a high degree of certainty that the defendant’s conduct meets the legal requirements for awarding punitive damages.
What Factors Do Jurors Consider When Determining How Much to Award for Punitive Damages?
Jurors are instructed to consider three questions when determining whether to award punitive damages. Those questions are:
How Reprehensible Was the Defendant’s Conduct?
To answer this question, jurors consider numerous factors, including:
- The circumstances and facts of the defendant’s conduct
- Whether the defendant tried to hide their wrongdoing
- How long the defendant engaged in the wrongdoing
- The plaintiff’s financial vulnerability
- Whether the harm was physical or economic
- How often the defendant engaged in wrongdoing
Judges may add to the instructions given to jurors to consider. Generally, jurors should consider all relevant factors when answering this question.
What Potential and Actual Harm Did the Defendant’s Wrongdoing Cause the Plaintiff?
The plaintiff must have sustained bodily injury or damage to property to receive punitive damages. Jurors consider the type and severity of the harm suffered by the plaintiff when deciding the amount to award for punitive damages.
What Amount of Money Will Discourage and Punish the Defendant and Others From Future Wrongful Conduct?
Jurors consider how much money is sufficient in considering the defendant’s financial situation. Punitive damages must be justifiable. It should be in proportion to the potential and actual harm sustained by the plaintiff.
Are There Caps on Punitive Damages in Illinois?
Jurors are instructed to award a reasonable amount for punitive damages. However, the court can reduce the amount to no more than three times the amount of the actual damages incurred by the plaintiff.
Actual damages include financial losses such as:
- Medical expenses
- Loss of income
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Property damage
- Reduction in future earning capacity
- Long-term care
- Rehabilitative therapy
Actual damages also include pain and suffering, such as:
- Physical discomfort
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Impairments and disabilities
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
- Mental anguish
- Scarring and disfigurement
There is an exception to the cap for punitive damages. The cap does not apply if the defendant’s conduct involved the commission of a crime for which they could be incarcerated if convicted.
How Do I Receive Punitive Damages for My Peoria Personal Injury Case?
Juries award punitive damages. Therefore, you must file a lawsuit and request punitive damages as part of the relief. Punitive damages are generally not included in settlements.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Punitive Damages in Illinois?
Punitive damages are part of your personal injury claim. Therefore, the deadline for seeking punitive damages is the same as the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit.
The statute of limitations for most negligence-based lawsuits is two years from the injury date. If you do not file a lawsuit before that time, you lose the right to pursue a claim through the courts.
Exceptions to the statute of limitations and other factors could change the deadline in your case. Consulting a lawyer as soon as possible is the best way to avoid missing the filing deadline for punitive damages.
Get Help From a Peoria Personal Injury Lawyer
Punitive damages can substantially increase the value of your personal injury claim. Contact a Peoria personal injury lawyer from Joel E. Brown, P.C at (309) 673-4357 to schedule a free consultation.