What are Punitive Damages? Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages may be awarded by the trier of facts in addition to actual damages. These damages are meant to compensate an injured party for the loss she suffered due to the harm caused by the defendant. Punitive damages are awarded for three reasons; (i) to punish the defendant, (ii) to act as a deterrent to the defendant and others minded to behave in a similar way, and (iii) to demonstrate the court’s disapproval of such conduct
tort reforms seems to take liability away from places such as insurance companies and hospitals which could at times leave the plaintiff without defense. From the defendant’s perspective, tort reform provides a defense from extremely large punitive damage awards. There seems to be no median between the two. Neither side will be satisfied. With the help of affiliations such as the American Tort Reform Association and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, many businesses and corporations are working
at the time, bought a coffee from the drive-thru of a McDonald’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She spilled the coffee on herself and received third-degree (full thickness) burns. She sued McDonald’s and was originally awarded almost $3 million in damages. This case is a perfect example of frivolous litigation and is one of the reasons some Americans think there needs to be civil justice reform. Facts Liebeck was riding as a passenger in her grandson’s car. After receiving her order, he pulled
The tort system in America has been a popular topic of being reformed for the past decade. In my opinion, we do not need a tort reform. The main objective for torts are civil wrongs and are used to help parties who have been injured by a second party. This is usually done by shifting monetary losses/values or injunctions to the second party and having them pay the costs or stop what caused the harm to party one. I believe that the current tort system is effective in that we award those who prove
Angelica Keller (Plaintiff) vs. Southwest Airlines Co. /Jane Doe (Defendants): Angelica Keller: Resident of Smyma, Rutherford County Tennessee Southwest Airlines: A corporation organized under the laws of the State of Texas, doing business in Tennessee. A common carrier of passengers for hire. Jane Doe: An unidentified flight attendant employed by Southwest, Acting within her duties for the business of Southwest when the negligence occurred. Facts The Plaintiff was flying on South West flight
Have you ever seen a commercial for mesothelioma victims, saying that billions of dollars have been set aside for those injured by asbestos? That you only need to call the number on your screen to receive your compensation? Or how about the ones for transvaginal mesh implants, Xarelto, or men developing gynecomastia after taking ARVs? These are all tort lawsuits that have been/are being tried in court to punish companies for making faulty products. This seems fair, doesn’t it? It is, don’t get me
Torts A tort is a term that is used to describe a civil wrong. The civil wrong must cause harm or loss to someone in order to be classified as a tort. There are numerous types of torts which include assault, battery, negligence, products liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress. These torts fall into three general categories which are: intentional torts, negligent torts and strict liability (Cornell University Law School, n.d.). The following paper will describe a situation in
existing insurance program effective 01/08/2016. The attached invoice is for the Punitive Damage coverage. UK is a very small entity yet we are receiving a charge of over 3% on top of what was paid for the entire policy year of 8 1 2015 to 8 1 2016. SunSetter is just 6 months of this term thus actual charge is over 7 charge on annual premium of $90,744; first layer. (3212/90744) 3.54%. Both, 1st and 2nd excess Punitive Damage premiums are calculated based on 13% of the domestic premium. On the second
Melfi v. Mount Sinai Hosp., 64 A.D.3d 26, 877 N.Y.S.2d 300 (2009) Facts: John Melfi is suing after his brother’s body was brought to a community college for embalming and then buried in a mass grave in Potter’s Field. On October 28, 2001, Leonard Mr. Melfi collapsed in his room at the Narragansett Hotel on the upper west side of Manhattan. EMS diagnosed Melfi with preliminary diagnosis of respiratory distress and transported him by ambulance to Mount Sinai Hospital. A patient registration form
Homework Assignment I: “Hot Coffee” The movie, “Hot Coffee”, is a documentary film that was created by Susan Saladoff in 2011 that analyzes the impact of the tort reform on the United States judicial system. The title and the basis of the film is derived from the Liebeck v. McDonald’s restaurants lawsuit where Liebeck had burned herself after spilling hot coffee purchased from McDonald’s into her lap. The film features four different suits that may involve the tort reform. This film included