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Personal Injury - Damages
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Personal Injury - Damages
Personal Injury - Damages

Personal Injury means where one person has been wrongfully hurt to seek and to recover money for the injuries sustained because of the fault of another person. For example, Personal injury caused due to a road accident.

 

In cases of personal injury, the conduct of the person will be taken into consideration if the case is filed for the claiming damages in the court of law. Cases with respect to the law of torts can be filed under the law of torts.

Damages

Many remedies are available to the injured person, and the most commonly used remedy is the compensation of damages, that amount shall be given by the person who has caused harm to the other person.

If a person suffering from injury claims for damages in the court of law, two conditions shall be taken into consideration by the court, which is as follows:

  1. Injuria sine dam no: It means that there is a legal injury without any actual damage.
  2. Damnum Sine injuria: It means there is a presence of actual damage, but no legal injury is caused.

The claim for damages can be awarded only with respect to Injuria Sine Damno.

Difference between Damage and Damages

  1. Damage: It means the loss suffered by the injured person due to the wrongful act carried out by some other person.
  2. Damages: It is the amount which is paid to the injured person by another.

There is a very minute difference between damages and damage and hence, one must be careful in interpreting the two terms. Therefore, it depends upon the situation and varies accordingly.

Damages awarded by the Court under Tort Law

There are many varieties of damages that are awarded by the court of law to the plaintiff which are listed as under:

Nominal damages- It means where the plaintiff has suffered an injury that is legal in nature, and the harm is caused through the defendant’s end, but there is no actual damage suffered by the plaintiff. This type of damage is provided in cases where Injuria sine dam no is taken into account, and also the court considers the violation of the rights the plaintiff has suffered by awarding nominal damages to the plaintiff.

Contemptuous damage- In this type of damage also the court awards nominal damage which has to be paid by the plaintiff just to show that the court has carried out some proceedings after the plaintiff files the suit.

For example, trespassing into another’s property without taking requisite permission.

Compensatory damage- This kind of damage is awarded to the plaintiff where the claim is given by the court to bring the plaintiff back to the position where he was originally before the tort had been committed against him or her by the defendant. This damage is only awarded so that the monetary loss suffered by the plaintiff can be recovered. For example, Damages awarded where the loss has occurred to the plaintiff with respect to some product or any other goods.

Aggravated damage- This kind of claim is given to the plaintiff for the excess harm that the plaintiff has suffered and some emotions such as pain and self-confidence are considered when this kind of damage is awarded. The wrong motive of the defendant shall be fully taken into account, and it cannot be compared with any amount of monetary claim.

Punitive damages- This type of damage is also awarded to the plaintiff by the court if it comes to the notice that severe damage is caused to the plaintiff by the defendant’s wrongful act and also a way of the court to deter and punish the defendant for the same. And this kind of damage is also known as exemplary damage.

Court Precedent

Constantine V/s Imperial London Hotels Ltd

In this case, it was seen that the plaintiff was a cricketer playing for West Indies, and he was denied a room in the hotel due to his nationality. After, a case was filed by the plaintiff and the court held that even though in this case the plaintiff’s legal right was violated and no personal or actual injury was caused to the plaintiff, therefore, the defendant was ordered to pay nominal charges to the plaintiff.

Ashby V/s White

In this famous case, the voting rights of the plaintiff was denied, and it happened so that the candidate for whom the plaintiff was going to vote, however, won. In this case, also, the plaintiff sued the defendant for legal injury, but, nominal damage was awarded by the court as there was no actual damage involved in this case.

Damages awarded in different situations

Reduced life span

In tort law, wherever, a wrongful act is committed by the defendant, due to some reason, the life span of the plaintiff is reduced then the compensation is calculated and awarded without looking into the social status of person or parties. This type of damage is awarded to provide a happy life ahead to the plaintiff for the loss suffered by him or her.

Death of the Person

For calculating the amount where the death of the person is involved under the tort law, two theories are considered by the court for the same. They are:

  1. Interest theory- In this case, a lump sum amount is paid to the dependent of the deseeded after investigating into the dependence level of the person and then only it is awarded.
  2. Multiplier theory- Under this theory, if any loss is suspected to occur by the defendant in future by an act of tort committed by the defendant in any case, the loss is multiplied with the number of years the plaintiff will suffer because of the loss caused by the defendant and that amount is awarded by the court if this theory is considered.

Inflation

Here a big question of law arises as to where inflation is considered as an important factor while deciding the amount by the court of law. In a few cases, it was debated that the court must consider the above factor.

Conclusion

Damages are only a monetary compensation that is awarded by the court in matters relating to the tort law to the plaintiff so that the loss caused to the plaintiff due to the harm is covered. The court calculates the amount of compensation, and it varies from one case to another.

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Personal Injury means where one person has been wrongfully hurt to seek and to recover money for the injuries sustained because of the fault of another person. For example, Personal injury caused due to a road accident.

In cases of personal injury, the conduct of the person will be taken into consideration if the case is filed for the claiming damages in the court of law. Cases with respect to the law of torts can be filed under the law of torts.

Damages

Many remedies are available to the injured person, and the most commonly used remedy is the compensation of damages, that amount shall be given by the person who has caused harm to the other person.

If a person suffering from injury claims for damages in the court of law, two conditions shall be taken into consideration by the court, which is as follows:

  1. Injuria sine dam no: It means that there is a legal injury without any actual damage.
  2. Damnum Sine injuria: It means there is a presence of actual damage, but no legal injury is caused.

The claim for damages can be awarded only with respect to Injuria Sine Damno.

Difference between Damage and Damages

  1. Damage: It means the loss suffered by the injured person due to the wrongful act carried out by some other person.
  2. Damages: It is the amount which is paid to the injured person by another.

There is a very minute difference between damages and damage and hence, one must be careful in interpreting the two terms. Therefore, it depends upon the situation and varies accordingly.

Damages awarded by the Court under Tort Law

There are many varieties of damages that are awarded by the court of law to the plaintiff which are listed as under:

Nominal damages- It means where the plaintiff has suffered an injury that is legal in nature, and the harm is caused through the defendant’s end, but there is no actual damage suffered by the plaintiff. This type of damage is provided in cases where Injuria sine dam no is taken into account, and also the court considers the violation of the rights the plaintiff has suffered by awarding nominal damages to the plaintiff.

Contemptuous damage- In this type of damage also the court awards nominal damage which has to be paid by the plaintiff just to show that the court has carried out some proceedings after the plaintiff files the suit.

For example, trespassing into another’s property without taking requisite permission.

Compensatory damage- This kind of damage is awarded to the plaintiff where the claim is given by the court to bring the plaintiff back to the position where he was originally before the tort had been committed against him or her by the defendant. This damage is only awarded so that the monetary loss suffered by the plaintiff can be recovered. For example, Damages awarded where the loss has occurred to the plaintiff with respect to some product or any other goods.

Aggravated damage- This kind of claim is given to the plaintiff for the excess harm that the plaintiff has suffered and some emotions such as pain and self-confidence are considered when this kind of damage is awarded. The wrong motive of the defendant shall be fully taken into account, and it cannot be compared with any amount of monetary claim.

Punitive damages- This type of damage is also awarded to the plaintiff by the court if it comes to the notice that severe damage is caused to the plaintiff by the defendant’s wrongful act and also a way of the court to deter and punish the defendant for the same. And this kind of damage is also known as exemplary damage.

Court Precedent

Constantine V/s Imperial London Hotels Ltd

In this case, it was seen that the plaintiff was a cricketer playing for West Indies, and he was denied a room in the hotel due to his nationality. After, a case was filed by the plaintiff and the court held that even though in this case the plaintiff’s legal right was violated and no personal or actual injury was caused to the plaintiff, therefore, the defendant was ordered to pay nominal charges to the plaintiff.

Ashby V/s White

In this famous case, the voting rights of the plaintiff was denied, and it happened so that the candidate for whom the plaintiff was going to vote, however, won. In this case, also, the plaintiff sued the defendant for legal injury, but, nominal damage was awarded by the court as there was no actual damage involved in this case.

Damages awarded in different situations

Reduced life span

In tort law, wherever, a wrongful act is committed by the defendant, due to some reason, the life span of the plaintiff is reduced then the compensation is calculated and awarded without looking into the social status of person or parties. This type of damage is awarded to provide a happy life ahead to the plaintiff for the loss suffered by him or her.

Death of the Person

For calculating the amount where the death of the person is involved under the tort law, two theories are considered by the court for the same. They are:

  1. Interest theory- In this case, a lump sum amount is paid to the dependent of the deseeded after investigating into the dependence level of the person and then only it is awarded.
  2. Multiplier theory- Under this theory, if any loss is suspected to occur by the defendant in future by an act of tort committed by the defendant in any case, the loss is multiplied with the number of years the plaintiff will suffer because of the loss caused by the defendant and that amount is awarded by the court if this theory is considered.

Inflation

Here a big question of law arises as to where inflation is considered as an important factor while deciding the amount by the court of law. In a few cases, it was debated that the court must consider the above factor.

Conclusion

Damages are only a monetary compensation that is awarded by the court in matters relating to the tort law to the plaintiff so that the loss caused to the plaintiff due to the harm is covered. The court calculates the amount of compensation, and it varies from one case to another.

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