What Are Compensatory Damages?
Compensatory damages are money awarded to a plaintiff to
compensate for damages, injury, or any sustained loss.
Compensatory damages are awarded in civil court cases where loss
has occurred as a result of the negligence or wrongful actions of
another person.
To claim compensatory damages, the plaintiff needs to show that a
loss occurred and that it was due to the defendant. The plaintiff must
therefore be able to quantify the amount of damage in the eyes of
the jury or judge.
Understanding Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages vary from punitive harm which can
compensate for any loss or damage suffered and which is intended
to incentivise a continuation of the loss or damages caused by the
plaintiff.
Cases relating to compensatory and punitive harm are a significant
point of discussion in the realm of health insurance, since tort reform
advocates contend that the total costs of health care have been
inflated by undue damage beyond real losses.
The object of compensatory damages is to compensate the plaintiff
in a suit for the injuries incurred by the defendant by sufficient
money.
Compensatory damage can be divided into two different types:
existing and general.
Actual damages are intended to provide the monetary amount
necessary to replace what was lost and nothing more.
Examples of Actual Compensatory Damages
