Mississippi law allows victims and survivors to seek compensatory and, oftentimes, punitive damages when the legal standard of negligence is met. When another person harms you as the result of a car accident or another negligent action causing personal injury or death to you or a member of your family, you have the right to sue the negligent party for damages. Damages is generally considered a quantifiable monetary award paid to victims pursuant to judgment of the court (or a settlement agreement authorized by the court).

Within the context of personal injury law, damages are either compensatory or punitive:

• Compensatory damages — Reimbursable expenses, such as medical expenses and lost wages, and subjective considerations, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish are compensable.  In Mississippi, damages for personal injury are sought by petitioning a state court for compensatory damages under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-69 or, in the case of wrongful death, Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13.
• Punitive damages – The courts have the discretion of ordering punitive damages as a matter of civil punishment and to deter similar behaviors in the future. Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-65 must be included in the petition if you wish to seek punitive damages in addition to compensatory damages.

Simply put, criminal restitution is to civil compensatory damages, what a criminal fine or incarceration is to civil punitive damages. The former reimburses, the latter punishes.  Mississippi law has placed statutory caps on punitive damages and limits who is eligible to file for compensatory damages (e.g., certain family members may file on behalf of a minor child, incapacitated party, or decedent).

Contributory negligence is also applicable within the context of damages for personal injuries and/or wrongful death, which occurs when the victim is at least partially responsible for the cause of his (or her) own injuries. Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-7-15 does not bar recovery of a damages award due to contributory negligence, although an award can be reduced. The reduction is based upon a formula which assigns percentages of responsibility to each party – the plaintiff and the respondent.