As a former Deputy Public Defender in Riverside County, Mr. Donath has always been on the defense side of the law.
Top 100 Trial Attorneys in California 2012-2014, 2008 Trial Attorney of the Year by the Riverside County Public Defender's Office, and dozens of other awards and accolades.
Your lawyer should have a passion for defense, not just a passion for money. Reputation, vigor, and determination go a long way in this business.
As a former Deputy Public Defender in Riverside County, Mr. Donath has always been on the defense side of the law.
Top 100 Trial Attorneys in California 2012-2014, 2008 Trial Attorney of the Year by the Riverside County Public Defender's Office, and dozens of other awards and accolades.
Your lawyer should have a passion for defense, not just a passion for money. Reputation, vigor, and determination go a long way in this business.
Posted in General FAQ'S on April 12, 2017
A personal injury lawsuit is a common choice for people who suffer injuries and other damages due to the negligent actions of others. In a typical personal injury lawsuit, the plaintiff can reasonably expect to win compensation for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, property damage, and lost income resulting from the incident in question. These are compensatory damages, and as the name implies, exist to compensate victims for the actions of others. However, in some lawsuits, a judge may decide that the defendant’s actions warrant additional forms of compensation.
Punitive damages exist to punish defendants for grossly negligent or willfully dangerous actions. Essentially, a judge will award punitive damages to discourage future instances of similar actions from both the defendant and the general public. Unlike compensatory damages which directly reimburse a plaintiff for his or her losses, a jury will determine the acceptable amount of punitive damages based on the defendant’s apparent conduct and the level of injury the plaintiff sustained.
A jury may also award punitive damages based on the defendant’s financial situation. Put simply, wealthy defendants have much more to fear when facing punitive damages, as the jury will consider a higher amount as more effective deterrence against future misbehavior.
It’s important to note, however, that some states like California impose limits on how much a plaintiff may receive in punitive damages. Additionally, a court may require that the punitive damages are proportionally acceptable compared to the compensatory damages awarded to the plaintiff.
Compensatory damages are more straightforward than punitive damages, but it can still be difficult to accurately assess a justifiable amount of compensatory damages in a lawsuit. Generally, compensatory damages should equal the plaintiff’s suffered losses. Some losses, such as the cost of repairing or replacing damaged property, reimbursing medical expenses, and other hard figures, are easy to calculate. Other losses, such as pain and suffering, are more open to interpretation.
General compensatory damages usually repay the exact amount lost, and include things like:
Special forms of compensation exist as well for things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and permanent disfigurement. Plaintiffs in wrongful death cases may also sue for loss of consortium and funeral expenses for the deceased. It may sound difficult to assign appropriate monetary values to damages like these, and in most cases, expert witness testimony will sway the judge and jury in terms of how much to award the plaintiff.
The court considers the plaintiff’s age, lifestyle, earning capacity, the nature of his or her injuries, and the extent of those injuries’ effects when calculating compensatory damages. One of the best things injured individuals can do to secure proper compensation is to retain records of every expense incurred after an injury. The more documentation establishing your losses you can offer your attorney, the better chance he or she will have in securing an acceptable award for your damages.