Description of the legal term General Damages:
General damages refer to the compensation awarded to an individual for non-monetary losses suffered due to another party’s wrongful conduct. These losses are not easily quantifiable in financial terms and typically include pain and suffering, loss of companionship, emotional distress, loss of reputation, or reduction in quality of life. Unlike special damages, which cover quantifiable losses such as medical bills or lost earnings, general damages are more subjective and require a court to assign a monetary value to the harm experienced by the plaintiff.
General damages are a component of compensatory damages, which aim to restore the injured party to the position they were in before the harm occurred. However, because the losses covered by general damages do not have an inherent monetary value, courts often use discretion and consider various factors when calculating the appropriate amount. Factors can include the severity and duration of the injury, the extent of physical or mental suffering, the impact on the individual’s daily life, and in cases of defamation, the extent of harm to reputation.
In personal injury cases, general damages are assessed on the impact the injury has on the claimant‘s life. This means considering the pain and suffering caused by the injury, any long-term disability, or the loss of enjoyment in hobbies or activities the claimant can no longer participate in due to the injury. In defamation claims, general damages could include distress, anxiety, or harm to social standing that cannot be specifically itemized.
Determining general damages often involves looking at precedent, with courts referring to awards given in similar previous cases to guide their decision-making. The use of guidelines issued by judicial bodies, such as the Judicial College Guidelines in England and Wales, can also help to estimate general damages for various types of injuries.
General damages play a fundamental role in the civil justice system by providing a means of recognizing and compensating for losses that are real and significant but not easily measured in financial terms. They underscore the law’s recognition that not all harm can be valued by receipts or documented expenses and that justice often demands a remedy for the intangible, personal, and less tangible aspects of harm.
Legal context in which the term General Damages may be used:
Consider a scenario where an individual is involved in a car accident caused by another driver’s negligence. The victim suffers multiple injuries including a broken leg, which takes several months to heal. Beyond the immediate medical costs and loss of income during recovery – both of which are recoverable as special damages – the victim struggles with continued pain, significant emotional trauma, and is no longer able to participate in marathons, a hobby that was a major part of their life. The court awards a sum to cover these experiences, recognizing the extended physical pain and the loss of enjoyment of life.
Another context for general damages would be in a case of defamation, where an individual’s reputation is harmed by false statements made by another party. Here, an experienced teacher is falsely accused of professional misconduct. While there might be some direct financial losses due to a temporary suspension from work, the primary harm suffered is reputational damage, emotional distress, and possible ostracization by their professional community. There are no medical bills to account for this harm, so the teacher seeks a certain sum as general damages, arguing for a sum that would address the intangible harms suffered, including the distress caused by the accusations and the tarnished reputation that might take years to rebuild, if at all possible.
The assessment and award of general damages are critical in ensuring that individuals are fairly compensated for all the harms they suffer, not just those with a clear monetary value. It is through these damages that the courts acknowledge the full spectrum of an individual’s loss and strive to alleviate the whole of a victim’s suffering to the extent that money can do so.