Punitive damages are the ones that often make the headlines. They’re designed to punish the offender for their actions. Under North Carolina law, punitive damages can only be assessed if the defendant acted fraudulently, maliciously, or with willful or wanton conduct. These criteria are intentionally hard to meet.
In golf cart accident cases, there are no caps on how much economic and noneconomic damages a person can receive. However, if punitive damages are assessed, they cannot exceed three times the amount of economic and noneconomic damages combined, or $250,000, whichever is greater.