punitive damages in accident

[molliemae]

my husband was in an auto accid. and hurt in back. we do have a lawyer but we are wondering about something he said. he said we may have to sue for punitive damages because the girl who hit him did not have a driver's lic. or permit.
she was given a ticket and the judge fined her and didn't like her attitude when she was before him..he asked why she was driving without a permit, she was very smug and he asked again...she finally said, because my momma told me too.
anyway, what does this mean, punitive damages and what type of compensation could we receive? And how much can we expect to recieve from the personal injury/pain suffering part of the compensation?

Thanks for any insight...

 

[Litigation!]

my husband was in an auto accid. and hurt in back. we do have a lawyer but we are wondering about something he said. he said we may have to sue for punitive damages because the girl who hit him did not have a driver's lic. or permit.
she was given a ticket and the judge fined her and didn't like her attitude when she was before him..he asked why she was driving without a permit, she was very smug and he asked again...she finally said, because my momma told me too.
anyway, what does this mean, punitive damages and what type of compensation could we receive? And how much can we expect to recieve from the personal injury/pain suffering part of the compensation?

Thanks for any insight...

My response:

Is she wealthy?

What is the State name??

IAAL

 

[molliemae]

south carolina....i dont think wealthy, but her mom did have ins.

 

[Litigation!]

south carolina....i dont think wealthy, but her mom did have ins.

My response:

I don't know, either you're misunderstanding or you're making this up - - but, one thing is sure . . . No attorney told you that you can get Punitive Damages from what you describe.

First, you don't get punitive damages from someone who drives but doesn't have a license.

Second, insurance companies don't pay punitive damages.

Third, if she doesn't have lots of money, you'll never get punitive damages.

Do you even know what "punitive damages" means?


IAAL

 

[molliemae]

that is what i was ASKING....what are punitive damages?
you don't have to be so rude.
I am not the lawyer here.

 

[zippysgoddess]

And not everyone on here is a lawyer either and nowhere on the site does it say that. If you want advice from a lawyer, go pay for a consult with one.

Some people on here are lawyers, but most are people with experience and expertise in different areas who volunteer their time to help people with legitimate problems.

By copping an attitude you will get nowhere and neither will ignoring the rules of the forum.

US LAW ONLY!

I could give you a definition of punitive damages, but since you have an attitude problem and apparently only want LAWYERS to answer you, I won't bother!

 

[erica0381]

Punitive Damages definition: (synony-mous with exemplary damages), damages awarded in a lawsuit as a punishment and example to others for malicious, evil or particularly fraudulent acts.

 

[molliemae]

I am sorry, I wasn't trying to have an attitude...I was simply asking a question, goddess. I thought the comments that litigation made were rude and made me feel like I was an idiot. (I wasn't implying that litigation was a lawyer either, I was simply saying that I WASN"T a lawyer---that's why I got on this site in the first place.)

With that cleared up, thankyou Erica for your comments, it really helped.

 

[notmyfault333]

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[Dwain]

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