Miami Accident Lawyer Blog
Last year, this blog discussed the unfortunate death of two Brevard County teens Rachel Price and Jamaree Cook, who were killed when Price’s vehicle collided with a pickup truck being operated an intoxicated driver. In response to that incident, our Florida car accident attorneys examined a State law allowing a person that has been injured or killed in a car accident caused by an intoxicated driver to recover punitive as well as compensatory damages.
That law, codified at Section 768.72 of The Florida Statutes, states that plaintiffs in civil actions are precluded from recovering punitive damages unless there is a “reasonable showing by evidence” that provides a “reasonable basis for recovery of such damages.” This standard is more specifically delineated in Florida’s pattern jury instructions which state that punitive damages may be warranted if a jury finds by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant’s conduct that caused the injury to the plaintiff was:
- Gross and flagrant as to show a reckless disregard of human life or of the safety of persons;