Damage Caps in Arizona’s Personal Injury Settlements
In a personal injury claim, the term “damages” refers to the money one party pays another. Courts order liable parties (defendants) to pay damages that compensate injured parties (plaintiffs) for losses or injuries they suffer due to the plaintiff’s wrongdoing. Damages aim to make the injured party “whole” again – putting them back in the position they were in before the incident that caused their injury as much as possible.
Judges and juries determine compensation amounts based on the evidence of the injuries, losses, and applicable laws that the parties present. Damage calculations consider factors like medical costs the injured party incurred, the income they lost, and the pain they endured due to their injuries. However, some states have “damage caps” that limit the compensation you can claim in a personal injury lawsuit.
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What Are Damage Caps?
Damage caps are legal limits that control the amount of damages a court can award to an injured party in certain legal cases. These caps vary significantly between states regarding which cases they affect and the maximum damage amounts allowed. In states where damage caps exist, plaintiffs cannot recover more than the statutory cap regardless of their actual damages.
Most states do not set caps on economic damages because it would prevent injured parties from recovering total compensation for the measurable losses they suffer due to others’ wrongdoing. This includes objective monetary losses like medical expenses and income reductions. However, many states have caps on non-economic or punitive damages, which are more subjective. Some state legislatures enact laws that only impose damage caps on certain types of personal injury claims, such as those involving medical malpractice.
Does Arizona Have Damage Caps?
Arizona does not cap damages in personal injury or wrongful death cases. The Arizona Constitution explicitly prohibits limiting the amount of damages a person can recover for personal injuries or death. In other words, the Arizona legislature has forbidden itself from enacting any laws that cap economic or non-economic damages in personal injury lawsuits.
This restriction preserves the right of Arizona juries and judges to award full compensation to injury victims without arbitrary limits. While many other states limit certain personal injury damages like compensation for pain and suffering, Arizona respects the rights of civil juries to determine proper compensation awards. This means plaintiffs can recover full damages for their losses.
What Types of Damages Could Be Awarded in a Personal Injury Case?
There are three primary categories of damages that injured parties can receive in personal injury lawsuits: economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate plaintiffs for quantifiable monetary costs and losses resulting from their injuries. These objective, measurable losses cover the costs of:
- Medical bills, including hospital stays, doctor’s visits, prescription drugs, medical equipment, and rehabilitative therapy
- Future anticipated costs, such as expenses for ongoing medical care, nursing assistance, household services fees, and necessary lifestyle accommodations
- Lost income and earning capacity if their injuries prevent them from working now or in the future
- Property damage costs
- Any other out-of-pocket expenditures directly attributable to their injuries
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for the subjective, non-monetary impacts and human losses stemming from a plaintiff’s injuries. Common non-economic damages include payments for the physical pain, emotional distress, trauma, anxiety, and suffering an injured person experiences due to their injuries. This compensation can also place a monetary value on reduced quality of life from permanent disability, disfigurement, or scarring. Non-economic damages can even address loss of consortium – the loss of companionship and marital relations for spouses of injured parties. Juries assess appropriate amounts for non-economic damages based on evidence and testimony detailing the extent of these intangible harms.
Punitive Damages
Unlike compensatory (economic and non-economic) damages, punitive damages do not aim to make the plaintiff whole but rather to punish and discourage particularly despicable conduct by a defendant. A jury can award punitive damages on top of compensatory damages with clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted knowingly with egregious recklessness or intentional malice. Punitive damages send a public message to deter similar future behavior. Most states have limits on the amount of punitive damages as a matter of public policy, typically based on the compensatory award or absolute dollar limits.
Are There Any Restrictions on Punitive Damages in Arizona?
Although Arizona prohibits punitive damage caps in most types of lawsuits, it places some restrictions on when courts can award punitive damages. Most notably, state law prohibits punitive damage awards in cases involving public entities like cities, counties, and state government agencies. This restriction also applies to cases involving public workers acting within the scope of their employment duties. Essentially, plaintiffs cannot recover punitive damages in lawsuits against the government or its public servants for conduct related to their jobs. However, punitive damages remain available in cases against private individuals and businesses.
What If I Was Partially to Blame for My Injuries?
Arizona follows a “pure comparative fault” rule in personal injury cases. This doctrine reduces your compensation by your percentage of fault for the accident. Unlike some states, Arizona does not bar recovery if your percentage of fault exceeds a certain threshold. In other words, even if you were 99 percent responsible for an accident, you could still obtain compensation for the 1 percent of damages assigned to the other party.
The key is that your compensation decreases proportionally based on your share of fault. This prevents the “all-or-nothing” outcomes that occur in some other states. While being partially at fault could reduce your award, it does not automatically prevent you from recovering compensation.
For example, let’s say you suffered $100,000 in damages from an accident for which a jury finds you 20 percent at fault. In that case, the most you could recover is $80,000, or 80 percent of your damages.
Contact an Arizona Personal Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to someone else’s wrongful behavior, the team at Mushkatel, Gobbato, & Kile, P.L.L.C. is ready to fight for the full compensation you deserve. Contact our office today for your case evaluation. We will review the details of your situation, answer your questions, and advise you on your next steps.
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About the Author
Zachary Mushkatel discovered his affinity for the law by chance. As a political science major at the University of Arizona, he first aspired to become a professor. But an unexpected invitation to participate on a mock trial team at the university encouraged him to turn his competitive spirit and drive…
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