First Principles of Business Law

3. Compensatory damages for personal injury

3.1.b.1 Damages for non-pecuniary harm

Sometimes the harm suffered by an injured person is not of a financial or monetary kind, but of a non-pecuniary kind. Important examples of such harm are: pain and suffering; shortened life expectancy; and loss of physical or mental capabilities (amenities). The nature and scope of non-pecuniary harm tends to be peculiar to the individual, taking account of factors such as age, particular skills, and the activities in which the plaintiff engaged before the injury.

The courts have long recognised that a plaintiff should be entitled to recover some sort of monetary compensation for non-pecuniary harm, even though it is difficult to place a precise monetary value on it.

A lump sum is awarded for all of the non-pecuniary harm a plaintiff has suffered. By statute in most states and territories, there are 'thresholds' (minimum levels of harm) which must have been suffered by a plaintiff before any award can be made. There are also 'caps' that limit the maximum amount of damages that can be awarded.

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