punitive damages
Punitive damages are damages in excess of those required to compensate the plaintiff for the wrong done, which are imposed to punish the defendant because of the particularly wanton or willful nature of his or her wrongdoing.
Additional Information
Also called "exemplary damages." Although the standard commercial general liability (CGL) policy and business auto policy (BAP) contain no punitive damage exclusion, many umbrella and excess liability policies contain such an exclusion.
Summary
Synonyms
exemplary damages
