a particular kind, species, variety, class, or group, distinguished by a common character or nature: to develop a new sort of painting; nice people, of course, but not really our sort. 2. character, quality, or nature: young people of a nice sort.
Punitive damages are awarded, then, in egregious cases â not your run-of-the-mill, âoops I was twiddling the radio dial when I hit youâ cases. Punitive damages have been argued and permitted in DUI cases. However, according to the lawyers in the Caskey case, juries have never considered an award of punitive damages in a âTextingâ case. This is what is meant by the phrase âcase of first impression.â The other thing about punitive damages is that they are generally NOT covered by insurance. You buy insurance to protect you if you are ânegligentâ or careless.
Although juries often get to decide the final amounts awarded to a plaintiff, some states limit compensatory damages. Most states do not cap punitive damages, however. Itâs not unusual in mesothelioma verdicts for awards to reach millions of dollars. In many cases, this is because asbestos companies were aware of the dangers of their products and did nothing to protect or warn workers of the associated hazards.