What Are Punitive Damages and When Are They Awarded in South Carolina?

Posted on March 25, 2026 in Personal Injury

Most South Carolina personal injury claims seek compensation for financial and non-economic losses resulting from an accident. However, some cases involve another category of compensation called punitive damages.

What are punitive damages in a lawsuit, and when does an injured person qualify for them? Here is an overview of punitive damages and when South Carolina courts might award them.

What Are Punitive Damages in South Carolina Personal Injury Cases?

Punitive damages are a category of compensation intended to punish a defendant for especially wrongful conduct and to deter similar behavior in the future.

Punitive damages focus on the defendant’s actions rather than the victim’s losses. That makes punitive damages different from compensatory damages, which reimburse an injured person for their medical bills, lost income, pain, suffering, and other economic and non-economic losses.

When Are Punitive Damages Awarded in SC Injury Claims?

Not every South Carolina personal injury case involves punitive damages. In fact, punitive damages awards are relatively rare.

Under state law, to recover punitive damages, an injured party must specifically request punitive damages in their claim, but not a specific amount. The injured party must then prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s conduct was willful, wanton, or carried out with reckless disregard for others’ safety and rights. That is a higher legal standard than the “preponderance of the evidence” standard used for ordinary negligence claims.

With that in mind, South Carolina courts considering punitive damages claims require evidence showing the defendant knew or should have known that their actions could cause harm and consciously ignored that risk. Examples may include drunk driving or intentional misconduct.

Before a court can award punitive damages, it must first determine liability and award compensatory damages. Then the court will consider punitive damages in a separate phase of the trial to determine whether to award them and, if so, in what amount.

South Carolina’s Statutory Caps on Punitive Damages

South Carolina law places limits on awards of punitive damages. In most cases, the law caps punitive damages at three times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater.

However, there are important exceptions that can increase or remove the cap. For example, the South Carolina punitive damages cap may rise to the greater of four times compensatory damages or $2 million if:

• The defendant’s conduct was motivated primarily by financial gain.
• The defendant’s conduct could subject them to a felony conviction.

There is generally no cap on punitive damages if the defendant intended to cause harm, was convicted of a felony arising from the same conduct, or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the injury.

Contact The Melonakos Law Firm About Your South Carolina Injury Case

If you suffered injuries in an accident someone else caused, you may wonder whether the other party’s conduct makes you eligible for punitive damages. Contact the team at The Melonakos Law Firm today for a free consultation. We will review the facts of your case and determine whether your claim ought to include punitive damages to account for the defendant’s behavior.

Michael Melonakos

Michael Melonakos is a Greenville-based personal injury attorney known for his experience representing both accident victims and major insurers. After years with top Atlanta defense firms, he now uses his insider knowledge to help Upstate clients maximize their injury claims. Michael is committed to compassionate service and is actively involved in the Greenville community.