When car accidents or truck accidents are caused by ordinary carelessness, it is usually seen as enough for the at-fault party to compensate the victim for any harm done. This usually includes paying for medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs directly related to the accident. However, sometimes an at-fault party’s conduct goes above and beyond mere negligence. In specific cases where a driver’s behavior was more egregious, punitive damages may be awarded for the purpose of punishing the defendant. This area of the law can be complicated, so you will need an attorney to assess the facts and circumstances of your accident to determine whether punitive damages may be appropriate. 

What is the Difference Between Punitive and Compensatory Damages? 

Compensatory damages are meant to compensate injured plaintiffs for the damage done to them in the accident. Even if it was simply a careless mistake, compensatory damages are awarded so that the defendant, rather than the plaintiff, will cover the costs associated with the crash. Punitive damages are used to punish the defendant for hurting someone through a complete disregard for others’ safety. 

When Are Punitive Damages Awarded? 

Punitive damages are not awarded in every negligence case. They are reserved for special circumstances where the defendant was acting with reckless indifference for the safety of others or malice. This may include things like driving an 18-wheeler while drunk or street racing at high speeds. The driver’s behavior when he caused the crash must reveal a complete lack of care for the safety of everyone else on the road. 

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted people all over the world, including the United States. Over the course of the last year, we have adjusted to a new normal. In Illinois, many schools, offices, stores, restaurants, and bars temporarily closed to stop the spread of the virus. As a result, many people purchased gifts online this holiday season. Almost anything can be bought through online shopping, such as clothing, makeup, books, appliances, furniture, or electronics. Most manufacturers have quality control processes intended to identify manufacturing defects before their products are released to the public. However, mistakes made during this process can lead to defective goods being distributed to retailers and sold to unsuspecting consumers. In these situations, a user could be at risk of suffering a serious injury due to a flaw in design or production.

How a Faulty Product Can Harm Users

Since you can buy practically anything on the Internet these days, it can be difficult to determine the quality of these products if you cannot see them or try them in person. Although clothes cannot really cause you harm, other types of products can be dangerous if they do not work properly. For example, improper wiring may lead to an electronic or motorized toy or device to malfunction and catch fire, causing the individual who is using it to suffer first-, second-, or third-degree skin burns. Similarly, a faulty device could electrocute a person in some cases if it does not include adequate directions or warning labels. In other cases, missing or broken parts make them dangerous for users.

Some products possess design flaws that make them dangerous for consumers even when they are manufactured properly and used according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. For instance, cell phones with batteries that ignite and explode, space heaters that catch fire, and tires with poor materials that make them lose traction. Some of the most serious injuries a consumer can suffer from using a faulty product include:

After a catastrophic injury, a person’s life can be changed forever. Injuries to the spinal cord can be especially devastating, leaving a victim paralyzed. Damage to the spinal cord can require immediate medical attention and even surgery to try to repair broken vertebrae. In many cases, a person is unable to regain function of his or her limbs, resulting in partial or full paralysis. There are many causes of such an injury, from automobile crashes to workplace accidents to simply tripping and falling. Regardless of what led to a spinal injury, a victim can face a long recovery and rehabilitation and may be unable to return to work. For many, long-term care is needed, which can put a significant financial strain on a victim and his or her family. With the help of an experienced personal injury attorney, you may be entitled to compensation if a negligent party was responsible for your injury.

Accidents That Can Cause Spinal Cord Damage

Most spinal cord injuries are caused by serious accidents, such as vehicle crashes, falls, sports, or recreational injuries. In many instances, the incident is a direct result of another party’s negligent behavior or actions. For example, if the proper safety precautions are not followed at a workplace, employees can fall and injure themselves. Similarly, being struck while walking or riding a bike or motorcycle offers little to no protection to the pedestrian or biker if they are hit by a car driving by a distracted or intoxicated motorist. The force of impact when thrown to the pavement or caught between vehicles can crush the bones of the neck or back, causing irreversible damage.

The most common types of accidents that can cause a spinal injury include the following:

Getting a favorable judgment in a civil trial is a daunting task. Depending on the type of litigation you were involved in, it can also be a very expensive endeavor.  Many people are aware that you can recover damages for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. However, there are other avenues of compensation that are less readily known and include the following:

• Fees for the subpoena of witnesses;
• Statutory fees for witnesses; and
• Fee’s associated with deposition administrative tasks.

What Other Costs May I Be Entitled To?

A skilled and experienced Orland Park personal injury attorney would be able inform you of any other costs to which you may be entitled. Different courts in Illinois have different rulings about what a prevailing party may recoup by way of court costs and fees.

There was positive news in 2014, which saw a decrease in traffic fatalities from the year before. Unfortunately, that is not a trend that appears to be taking place in 2015. Instead, national statistics are pointing to an increase in vehicle accident fatalities.

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), the total number of traffic accident fatalities in 2014 was 32,675. However, the number of people killed in the first six months of 2015 was 8 percent higher than the number of fatalities for the first six months of 2014. The NHTSA uses data from its Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

The NHTSA says that the majority of these fatal accidents are preventable and are caused by drivers’ deadly behaviors, such as speeding and distracted driving. For example, data from 2014 fatalities reveal that: