The Online Asbestos, Asbestos Cancer, & Mesothelioma Authority
Exemplary Damages or Punitive Damages
As the name suggests, exemplary damages are meant to set an example. They are better known in legal terms as punitive damages, and may be requested by the plaintiff in a civil case in which the defendant's actions are shown to be particularly egregious.
An example of this was seen during the past fifteen years in suits brought against the tobacco companies. While counsel for the tobacco companies argued that smoking was a personal choice, the plaintiff's counsel were able to demonstrate that tobacco advertising had been designed to target children, that people who are addicted to nicotine as children are far less able to stop as adults, and that the tobacco companies had added substances such as ammonia to cigarettes in order to make them that much more addictive.
As a result, the courts awarded plaintiffs astronomical exemplary damages on top of compensation for medical expenses and loss of income in order punish this all-too-common type of corporate malfeasance. Sadly, corporate money has taken such firm control of the U.S. government today that punitive awards are being limited and even overturned by higher courts that have been staffed with corporatist judges by an administration that is not only beholden to private corporate interests, but indeed consists of many people who are former CEOs and/or sit on the boards of such corporations.
Exemplary damages are also awarded in cases in which the plaintiff experienced pain and suffering, but did not necessarily incur financial damages or other expenses. A recent example consists of the many lawsuits brought against the Roman Catholic Church by plaintiffs who were sexually molested by priests as children. Another example involves sexual harassment suits in which the victims suffered embarrassment and humiliation, but no real financial loss. Threat and intimidation can also be grounds for exemplary/punitive damages.