Punitive Awards Rare in Civil Suits, Study Says
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WASHINGTON — As Congress heads toward limiting the punitive damages juries can award, a Justice Department study showed Sunday that punitive awards occur in only a tiny fraction of civil cases and half are for less than $50,000.
In a study of state civil suits in the nation’s 75 largest counties, the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that in 1992 there were 762,000 civil suits involving torts, contracts and real property rights. Punitive damages were awarded in only 364 cases, the study found.
The overwhelming majority of cases, 750,000, never reached a jury. Jurors ruled on only 12,000 cases. In those, the plaintiffs won 6,200 and lost 5,800.
Punitive damages are awarded when a defendant is found grossly negligent. Compensatory damages reimburse plaintiffs for actual loss.
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