A wrongful death action sounds like something that would constitute a criminal case. Alas, it does not. It is a civil action. This means that a jury or judge finding in favor of the plaintiff would render an award of monetary damages in most cases. That doesn't mean, however, that punishment isn't dealt out as well. In civil litigation, it comes in the form of punitive damages.

To win any civil lawsuit, you need to show the element of damages. If a person slanders you by screaming untold curses that are not true, it really doesn't matter if they do it in the middle of the Sahara where nobody can hear it. In such a case, there is "no harm" and thus no damages.

Ah, but what if there were damages in the case? Well, civil law works in an odd way. The damages are often referred to as a remedy. This gives us insight into the role damage awards play. They are designed to make the damaged party "whole." If I sue you for breach of contract and win, for example, the court will usually order you to comply with the terms of the contract and pay my attorneys' fees.

In some cases, however, the conduct of the defendant is so over the top that merely making the plaintiff whole is not enough. The Ford Pinto explosion cases of the 1970s and 80s were classic examples. The cars tended to explode when hit from behind. Through litigation, it was proved that Ford new this but did a cost benefit analysis in which it determined that it would be cheaper to simply settle wrongful death lawsuits than redesign the rear of the car to keep the gas tank from exploding when impacted.

The fact that Ford had allegedly done a cost benefit analysis comparing the value of human life to the cost of redesigning the car caused an uproar with the jury and public. Most cases resulted in awards of "normal" damages as well as punitive damages to punish Ford for making such a cold calculation. The punitive damage awards often exceed those of the other damages in the case.

Proving a wrongful death case is much easier than proving punitive damages are warranted. Every state has a different threshold before punitive damage claims will be allowed, but all call for evidence closer to the criminal standard than the basic preponderance of the evidence used in a civil case. Still, punishment can be dealt out in the most egregious of cases.