damages
Sign in to saveAlso known as compensation award
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at law, the loss must involve damage to property, or mental or physical injury; pure economic loss is rarely recognized for the award of damages.
~21 min read
Article
24 sectionsContents
- History
- Proof of damages
- Proximate cause
- Expert testimony
- Compensatory damages{{anchor|Compensatory_or_expectation_damages}}
- Quantum (measure) of damages
- Special damages
- Incidental and consequential losses
- Breach of contract duty - (ex contract)
- Breach of tort duty - (ex delicto)
- General damages
- United Kingdom
- Statutory damages
- Nominal damages
- Contemptuous damages
- Punitive damages (non-compensatory)
- Aggravated damages
- Restitutionary or disgorgement damages
- Legal costs
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at law, the loss must involve damage to property, or mental or physical injury; pure economic loss is rarely recognized for the award of damages.
Compensatory damages are further categorized into special damages, which are economic losses such as loss of earnings, property damage and medical expenses, and general damages, which are non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. Rather than being compensatory, at common law damages may instead be nominal, contemptuous or exemplary.