Damages
Damages à how much money the Π or counter Π can recover for whatever was done to him/her/it. Proof of damages is essential in negligence and strict liability cases, for the damage is the gist of the action. However, with intentional torts, damage does not have to be proven for the action is complete upon showing an invasion of the protected interest. Nevertheless, the amount the Δ will have to pay to compensate the Π for an injury caused by (INT, NEG, or PL) is the same.
Nominal Damages
These consist of a small sum of money awarded to the Π in order to vindicate rights, make the judgment available as a matter of record in order to prevent the Δ from acquiring perspective rights, and carry a part of the cost of action. The amount of award, so long as it is trivial, is unimportant.
Courts allow the vindication of Π right: first to set up the possibility of atty fees and second is punitive damages (if Δ does the same wrongfully action a second time, Π can go in and request punitive damages).
Compensatory Damages
These are sums of money intended to represent the closest possible financial equivalent of the loss or harm suffered by the Π, to make the Π whole again, to restore the Π to a position the Π was in before the tort occurred.
There are two types: Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Economic Damages – medical must be reasonable and related to the accident (hospital bills, doctors bills, emergency room bills, etc)
· Disputes w/experiment medical treatments
· Past economic damages
· Replacement services – hiring someone else to do the job the injured person can no longer do (personal or business). Personal: wife can claim for loss of contortion (has to be marital relationship) – the husband is injured, wife can recover for a plumber, roofer, etc if that is something the husband had been able to do
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Non-Economic Damages – pain and suffering (GR: you must be conscious for some period of time after the accident to collect p & s – comes up when there is a death at time of the accident. There are some jurisdictions that allow “pre-death” collection for the pain and suffering the person dealt with as the plane plummets to the ground), hedonistic are damages that effect the way that you enjoy your life (lost the enjoyment of my life – in a minority of jurisdictions you can collect), most important testimony is that from the EMT crew.
Pain and suffering – (always have to worry about stoic and embellishment) testimony of Π, spouse (almost always the BEST person to testify), kids/relatives/co-workers, doctors, therapists. Computer simulations, X-Rays, prosthetic parts
Emotional pain and suffering, in “most” cases you cannot collect unless there is a psychical manifestation.
Future Non-Economic Damages – are not discounted back to the present day
Standard of Proof: Scales of justice, have to be tip in the favor of the Π (50.1%). Π has the burden of proving the evidence that the damages are more than likely the result of the tort that occurred.
Federal Income Tax – Π personal injury award are not subject to FIT, punitive damages are tax (b/c they are view as an award)
Tort reform – Republicans legislators put a cap on the amount of high awards against a doctor for negligent cases.
Maximum Recovery Rule à rule of reasonableness, to make sure the jury does not have a runaway jury. Direct the trial judge to determine whether the verdict of the jury exceeds the maximum amount, which the jury could reasonably find and if it does, the trial judge may reduce the amount to the highest amount the jury could have awarded. This is based on FIVE cardinal elements.
Past Physical & Mental Pain – surgeries, aliments, mental/emotional trauma
Future Physical & Mental Pain – future surgeries, continued pain from aliments, limited motion/mobility, increase chance of possible cancer or other diseases, irritations and infections from future surgeries, stress/tension, deprived of normal social life, etc.
Future Medical Expenses – first thing the jury needs to know, is how long is Π going to live (Most states have a life expectancy table), to determine h
claims against the defendant. If you’re punishing the company, there are probably better places for the money to go than the plaintiff’s pocket. We impose what amounts to a criminal sanction without the protections of the criminal law. The jury has no firm guidance as to the determination of punitive damage awards. Punitive damages are often so large that while they may not cause a company to go bankrupt, they may discourage companies from acting at all. There may be a constitutional Due Process problem of notice.
Gryc v. Dayton-Hudson Corp. – The plaintiff sued the manufacturer in a product liability suit. Focus on “the extent to which the defendants are subject to federal safety regulation”. What were the federal standards at the time? It turns out that the product met the standards; however, that doesn’t make you immune from suit. You can’t totally trust the government to tell you what to do. It’s not sufficient to be in compliance with federal standards.
BMW v. Gore – If you can only prove economic harm, you will not get as big of a punitive damage award as if there were other types of harm.
Price v. Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. – Price’s insurance company refused to pay a claim. Price tried to sue to get them to pay.
Why should punitive damages be excluded from insurance coverage? The costs of punitive damages should not be passed along to the general public. The punishment effect of punitive damages should not be diluted by being able to pass them along to your insurer. Why should we allow punitive damages to be covered by insurance? We should not impede the right of private individuals to collect the benefit of the bargain from
