Are punitive damages available in a Florida auto accident case?

If you’re involved in a Florida automobile accident case, punitive damages are available. The standard to determine whether punitive conduct has occurred is whether the defendant has committed some sort of act that caused your injury that had a reckless or wanton disregard for human life. Typically, what we see in most punitive damage cases is the defendant has basically driven under the influence or committed a DUI. In a criminal case, the DUI elements must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case, the elements only need to be proven by a greater weight of the evidence. It’s actually easier in civil cases to prove that the defendant was DUI.