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Punitive Damages in Personal Injury Cases: Strategic Considerations From Pleading to Appeal

Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Conducted on Monday, September 30, 2024

Recorded event now available

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This CLE webinar will offer guidance for proving or defending punitive damages in personal injury cases. The panel will also address the current trend of plaintiffs' attorneys to seek and juries to award massive pain and suffering as a stand-in for punitive damages.

Description

Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for outrageous, willful, or wanton conduct and to deter the defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct in the future. Plaintiffs must carefully weigh the costs and benefits of seeking punitive damages, including whether punitive damages are insurable or collectible. Punitive damage awards are often appealed, so all parties must be prepared for the long haul.

Punitive damages strategies will vary depending on how the jurisdiction addresses them. Currently, a majority of states have no statutory caps on punitive damages; some states prohibit punitive damages; others tie the amount to the amount of compensatory damages; and a few require that most of the award be paid to the state itself.

Many plaintiffs attempt to get juries to factor the defendant's conduct into awards for economic and non-economic awards like pain and suffering. With little guidance about when such awards are unreasonable, they are often difficult to reduce on appeal.

Listen as this panel offers guidance about how personal injury lawyers approach proving or defending both explicit demands for punitive damages and requests that jurors fold such arguments into requests for non-economic damages.

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Outline

  1. Statutory requirements and limits
  2. Evidentiary standards and burdens of proof
  3. Key considerations that motivate punitive damages
  4. Defenses
  5. Trial strategies
    1. Bifurcation
    2. Discovery
    3. Voir dire
    4. Pre-trial motions
    5. Arguing the amount of punitive damages
    6. Instructions
  6. Issues on appeal

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issue:

  • How do plaintiffs urge the jury to "punish" the defendant through compensatory damages?
  • Are punitive damages insurable?
  • How does the status or perceived wealth of defendants affect an award of punitive damages and how is the award determined in various jurisdictions?
  • What is being done to combat extreme punitive damages awards and how can a claim for punitive damages be defended effectively?

Faculty

Lehman, Kathryn
Kathryn S. Lehman
Partner
King & Spalding

Ms. Lehman is a member of the Tort Litigation and Environmental Group. She has experience in individual plaintiff...  |  Read More

Testa, Wendy
Wendy D. Testa
Partner
Wilson Elser

Ms. Testa is a co-chair of the firm’s Complex Tort & General Casualty and Design Professional practices. She...  |  Read More

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Strafford will process CLE credit for one person on each recording. All formats include course handouts.

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