I would voluntarily go to jail for 37 days for that amount.

I think it's a shame this doesn't come with criminal charges, though. False imprisonment? Kidnapping?

And in cases like this, the actual perpetrators typically don't pay a cent out of their own pockets. Instead, the city or county indemnifies the defendant, either directly or through insurance. Which means that taxpayers (possibly including the injured party) are the ones who pay.

I would say it seems unbelievably high! I've known people t-boned by Semi Trucks that ran a red light and they couldn't get 1/10th of that because you can only prove so many actual damages. A single month in the slammer caused this guy $835k in proven damages? You'd probably lose your job, go into arrears on rent/car/mortgage, but it's hard to believe that every day in prison was costing this guy $22k

Not an expert here, but after his lawyer's cut and taxes, my guess is he'll take home around $250K ???

It’s about what your average senior engineer makes here at hackernews per month