Under some circumstances, punitive damages are recoverable against an at-fault driver who injures someone. However, historically, punitive damages have been unrecoverable when the accident victim brings a direct claim against his/her own Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist insurer for accident damages.
Recently, several courts have reconsidered this issue. To date at least 10 trial courts have ruled that punitive damages are recoverable in a UM/UIM claim if the accident facts themselves support a punitive damages claim. For instance, if the at-fault driver was drunk, the injured claimant could claim punitive damages. Recent decisions allowing punitives to be claimed in UM/UIM claims include:
- McAleese vs Western National, 24CV09639, Multnomah County
- Dixon vs USAA, 23CV27677, Multnomah County
- Michael vs Geico, 23CV03274, Multnomah County
- Thaler vs USAA, 22CV03680, Multnomah County
- Underwood vs USAA, 22CV12063, Multnomah County
- Hall vs Allstate, 17CV52969, Union County
- Smith vs State Farm, 21CV03477, Multnomah County
- Nash vs XL Specialty Insurance, 19CV53840, Multnomah County
- Holzbach vs State Farm, 20CV19134, Multnomah County
- Bastian vs Safeco, 20CV23154, Multnomah County
Although punitive damages are not recoverable absent extremely aggravated fault, such as drunk driving, the recent trend toward allowing them in UM/UIM claims affords injured accident victims another avenue to be fairly compensated for their injuries. This issue is still evolving on a case by case basis. We will report further as needed.
