By: Darrell Castle
There are two categories for damages in a personal injury case – compensatory and punitive.
Punitive damages are intended to deter the defendant and anyone else from similar events. These damages send a clear message out to the public that these actions won’t be permitted and caution needs to be exercised.
A good example of this is a recent Actos (a diabetes medication linked to causing bladder cancer) verdict.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and Eli Lilly & Company were ordered to pay $9 billion in punitive damages. But that verdict will most-likely be reduced due to a US Supreme Court ruling that punitive verdicts must be proportional to compensatory verdicts, which was $1.5 million in this case.
However, the point remains the same – the federal court jury was sending a message to Actos manufacturers that their actions would not be tolerated.
“I hope Takeda executives in Japan heard what this jury had to say loudly and clearly,” said Mark Lanier, a lawyer representing an Actos victim.
What was the $1.5 million in compensatory damages for?
Well, compensatory damages can be for a lot of things. They’re used to compensate the victim for monetary loss as well as pain and suffering.
The most common factors in a victim’s compensatory damage compensation are pain and suffering, as well as medical bills from the injury and lost wages from time required off work.
If you or a loved one are injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault (car accident, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, slip and fall or from taking a dangerous drug) then you should speak to an experienced personal attorney immediately.
An experienced personal injury attorney will look at your case detail by detail, find who was liable and then determine if and how much compensation you’ll be entitled to.
You need an attorney you can trust – one who’s going to work hard to get you the compensation you’re entitled to while walking and talking you through the process.
Darrell Castle & Associates has received multiple Client Distinction Awards from Martindale-Hubbel because we go the extra mile for our client’s success.
Call (901) 327-1212 today or fill out one of the contact forms on this page to schedule your FREE case evaluation.