Accountability Means More Safety For Everyone In Our Community
As a society, one of our first objectives is to keep our people safe. We must use reasonable care to keep ourselves and others free from harm. It’s a concept that has been around since the beginning of time: treat others the way you want to be treated.
This concept applies not only to individuals, but also to businesses. For instance, we expect all drivers to follow safe rules of the road. We believe that manufacturing companies will adhere to the safety standards that our country requires for imported products. Additionally, we have faith that pharmaceutical firms will implement proper testing to ensure medicine will not harm us. Simply said, we expect businesses to do the right thing.
But when a company or person chooses to break that “golden rule,” society has an obligation to take the next step. If an individual, corporation or government does not keep the safety of its citizens as its foremost guiding principal, then the next logical step is to take legal action. That results in enforceable accountability. And more accountability means more safety.
Preventing Tragedy From Happening To Others
What better way to ensure accountability than to leave it in the hands of the citizens, our friends and family? Many of our clients say the reason they want to file a lawsuit is to prevent tragedy from happening to others. They have had to face pain and suffering, and they want to help prevent another family from experiencing the same issues.
This is where our legal system excels: allowing local citizens on a jury to decide who is responsible when something goes wrong and making them pay for it.
What Are Compensatory Damages?
The second way that juries ensure accountability is by awarding compensatory damages. These damages attempt to compensate individuals for how they have been wronged and for what has been taken from them, whether it is wages, personal health, or even a human life.
While compensatory damages will not reverse an accident, financial compensation can make improvements in quality of life for survivors. For instance, if a father is killed in a car accident, compensatory damages might allow his widow to establish college funds for surviving children and to pay off a home mortgage.
What Are Punitive Damages?
In addition to determining fault, juries can impose punitive damages for a company or individual who has broken the rules. These damages are one way that juries show businesses they are accountable for their actions. Punitive damages are designed to punish, deter, and set an example for others that breaking the rules will be costly.
They can change the way large corporations do business, such as forcing them to remove a harmful medicine from your neighborhood pharmacy. By imposing financial penalties, juries tell businesses that safety is important in our community.
At Carr & Carr Attorneys, we believe that working for you not only helps individuals and families but also improves our community. Our 11 personal injury lawyers take pride in the services we perform that improve the safety of the Oklahoma and Arkansas neighborhoods in which we live and work.
Contact us at 1-866-510-0580 you have questions concerning personal injuries. Our lawyers help people in Oklahoma through offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
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