Another sort of damage, known as punitive damages, may be awarded if the individual or entity that caused you harm did it deliberately or in a particularly shocking manner. Punitive damages are only meant to hold accountable the entity who caused your injury. For instance, if you were wounded in an accident caused by a defective automotive part and the manufacturer was aware of the problem, we may have a strong case to support punitive damages (and benefit from it). Punitive damages are regularly granted in drunk driving accident cases.