First Principles of Business Law

3. Compensatory damages for personal injury

3.1.2 General and special damages

The damages that a plaintiff can seek are described as either ‘special damages’ or ‘general damages’. Special damages compensate for loss which can be precisely assessed, such as medical expenses actually suffered up to the date of the verdict. Special damages require proof of the loss.  General damages compensate for loss that is difficult to assess precisely in financial terms and for loss that is not of a monetary nature, such as pain and suffering. Various examples of loss are listed below. Click on the buttons to indicate whether general or special damages would be appropriate in each case.

1. Hospital costs incurred by a plaintiff as a result of personal injury.

2. Compensation for shortened life expectancy.

3. Future economic losses that will occur because of injuries to a plaintiff.

4. Earnings that have been lost while a plaintiff was unable to work.