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Punitive damages explained.
Punitive damages are particularly prevalent in the USA where they are often left to the discretion of a group of citizens, a jury, who may impose them when they determine that a defendant’s conduct has been uncivilized or to deter other from acting in such an underhanded way, to improve, generally, law and order, or simply to reward the plaintiff for his financial risks in litigating and enforcing the law. Where awarded, they are an exception to the rule that damages are to compensate not to punish. The exact threshold of punitive...
read moreAggravated damages explained.
The Supreme Court of Canada decision in Fidler vs. Sun Life, released on June 29, 2006, clarified the legal principles for awarding aggravated damages in Canada. Facts of the Case Ms. Fidler was a bank receptionist who, at the age of 36, became ill and was eventually diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. She began receiving LTD benefits from Sun Life in 1991. The benefits were terminated in 1998, based to a large extent on video surveillance which Sun Life felt detailed activities inconsistent with her claim that she was...
read moreStructured settlements explained.
In larger personal injury claims, a structured settlement may be available to you. You must negotiate the structured settlement before judgment or during the settlement process. After judgment, the option of a structured settlement is no longer available. A structured settlement, in simple terms, is an annuity purchased at the time of the settlement, which provides a stream of income over a certain period of time. The significant advantage to a structured settlement is that you receive a certain stream of income tax-free over a given period...
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