Much is said about punitive damages and how they are used to punish wrongdoers. Plaintiffs dream of large punitive damage awards. Plaintiffs' lawyers who obtain large punitive damage awards use them to brag about their ability as tort lawyers and as a bludgeon on other defendants to convince them to settle for more than they owe. What the litigants and litigators seldom consider are the tax consequences of a large punitive damage award. Failure to properly advise a plaintiff seeking punitive damages about the tax consequences of success can result in claims of legal malpractice.
What is the purpose of punitive damages?
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
