Damages punitive

February 19 The judge on a successful suit brought by three women with breast cancer against Wyeth for its hormone replacement drug Prempro sets final damages at 58 million— 23 million to compensate the women and 35 million in punitive damages. 

Mahoney, Richard J., and Littlejohn, Stephen E., "Innovation on Trial Punitive Damages Versus New Products , Science, Vol. 246, December 16, 1989, Page 1395... 

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, Congress has considered adopting national tort law standards, including proposals to protect manufacturers from punitive damage awards for products approved by the FDA unless die manufacturer has acted fraudulendy. 

Kuhlik, B. N., and Kingham, R.F., The Adverse Effects of Standardless Punitive Damage Awards on Pharmaceutical Development and... 

A Title VII action is considered equitable in nature, and the primary objective is to stop or eigoin the unlawful discrimination practices. Potential remedies can include injunctive relief, back pay, attorney fees, punitive damages, and other relief Class actions are permitted under Title VII if the rules of civil procedure are met. Although safety professionals will seldom be involved in a Title VII court action, there are a number of possible defenses, including, but not limited to, business necessity defense, statistical data, and bona fide occupational qualifications. 

Compensatory and punitive damages are also made available if intentional discrimination is found. Damages may be available to compensate for actual monetary losses, future monetary losses, mental anguish, and inconvenience. Punitive damages are also available if an employer acted with malice or reckless indifference. The total amount of punitive and compensatory damages for future monetary loss and anotional injury for each individual is limited, and is based upon the size of the employer. 

LIMITATIONS—The sum of the amount of compensatory damages awarded under this section for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses, and the amount of punitive damages awarded under this section, shall not exceed, for each complaining party—... 

The legal framework also includes common law tort liability, as noted earlier, which threatens companies with compensatory and punitive damages for harms caused by their negligent actions, and in many of the courts where tort claims are brought, evidence that the harm arose from an activity that did not meet an applicable regulation is regarded as conclusive evidence of negligence. 

Another reason is that compliance with prescriptive rules provides a safe harbor from potential liability for the operator. For example, if the operator has fully complied but incurs a harmful incident that leads to tort liability lawsuits which allege operator negligence and seek compensatory and punitive damages, many... 

The order may also require payment of punitive damages up to 250,000. 

Safety professionals should also be aware that the Civil Rights Act of 1991 also placed limits on compensatory and punitive damages based upon the size of the employer. These limits on compensatory and punitive damages are as follows ... 

The maximum limit on compensatory and punitive damages for an employer with 499 employees is ... 

Compensatory and punitive damages may be awarded in cases involving intentional discrimination based on a person s race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), religion, disability, or genetic information. 

Punitive damages may be awarded to punish an employer who has committed an especially malicious or reckless act of discrimination. 

There are limits on the amount of compensatory and punitive damages a person can recover. These limits vary depending on the si of the employer ... 

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