A $22 million verdict was awarded to an East Cleveland man. When compensation rewards get this high, people wonder how anything that happens to a person can possibly be worth that much. In a world where insurance will barely hand out $5,000 for a $20,000 car, what do you have to lose to get one million, let alone twenty-two?
Cases like this highlight the critical differences between compensatory and punitive damages. Personal injury attorneys don’t often deal with amounts that high, but they do know the break down and understand how such a large verdict could be justified.
Compensatory Damages: Reimbursement for Loss
Compensatory damages are designed to reimburse a person for what was lost due to another party’s actions. This form of compensation is intended to cover things like medical bills, lost wages, and other direct losses suffered by the victim. The primary goal here is to restore the victim to the financial position they were in before the incident occurred.
Stripping out the heavier wording, these damages compensate for loss. They cover what has been paid and try to make it seem, financially, as if nothing happened.
Punitive Damages: Punishment and Deterrence
Punitive damages, on the other hand, are not about compensating the victim. Instead, they aim to punish the wrongdoer for their actions and deter others from similar behavior in the future. To be effective, punitive damages must be significant enough to be felt by the perpetrator. They are typically awarded in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Making a person pay a few thousand dollars in damages can create quite a burden. Corporations, however, can sometimes easily pay a million dollars without losing anything.
In establishing punitive damages, courts look for an amount directly coming out of the at-fault party. Any losses a corporation might take from bad PR, stock loss, etc. do not count in the court’s estimation.
The East Cleveland Case: A Harsh Lesson in Justice
In this specific example case, an East Cleveland man was locked in a closet by police for four days after he was beaten. This is a clear violation of due process and an abuse of power.
Such extreme police misconduct calls for severe punitive measures. The legal system uses punitive damages as a way to address and deter such abuses. The awarding of punitive damages serves as a crucial tool in the legal system, particularly in cases of egregious misconduct. It ensures that violators are held accountable and helps prevent future injustices by sending a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated.
Ratio of Compensatory and Punitive Damages
There’s often a proportional relationship between compensatory and punitive damages. In many cases, punitive damages are awarded up to a multiple of three times any awarded compensatory damages. This proportionality ensures that the punitive aspect is fair and rational. For example, to justify a $18 million punitive award, there would typically need to be a compensatory component of around $6 million.
The East Cleveland case is a stark reminder of the role of punitive damages in ensuring justice and deterring future wrongdoings. When due process is grossly violated, the legal system steps in to provide both compensation for the victim and a punitive response to prevent similar incidents in the future.