Tort law deals with injury to person or property, and a victim can receive monetary compensation through actual, punitive, and aggravated damages. Different legal systems have varying types of compensation, and in the US, state laws determine compensation. Aggravated damages compensate for emotional injuries, and examples include pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Punitive damages are awarded in egregious cases to punish the defendant.
The area of law that deals with injury to person or property is known as tort law. When a person brings a lawsuit based on the defendant’s wrongful conduct, the remedy available to the plaintiff, or victim, is monetary compensation if he wins the case. While the type of damages that can be awarded to a plaintiff may vary in the world’s different legal systems, there are three common categories: actual damages, punitive damages, and aggravated damages. Aggravated damages are intended to compensate the plaintiff for the emotional injuries he has suffered as a result of the defendant’s actions.
Most legal systems around the world recognize a victim’s right to compensation when they have been injured by the wrongful actions of another person. The difference between legal systems is often found in the types of cases considered recoverable, what level of culpability is claimed on the part of the defendant, and what type of compensation can be awarded. Within the United States, individual state laws determine what type of compensation can be awarded and under what circumstances. Most states in the US allow aggravated damages in one way or another.
A personal injury lawsuit based on a traffic accident case is a common example of a tort lawsuit. In a traffic accident lawsuit, the plaintiff has often suffered actual bodily injuries and property damage. Such damages are often called actual, special, or economic damages. In most cases, a plaintiff must first prove a certain amount of actual damages before being entitled to aggravated damages.
Exactly what qualifies under the aggravated damages category will vary widely from one jurisdiction to another; however, the concept is that aggravated damage should be understood as compensation for the “aggravation” suffered by the plaintiff. Common examples of what may be included in determining the value of aggravated damages are pain, suffering, humiliation and emotional distress. As these are clearly subjective in nature, the value of the aggravated damages portion will depend on many factors, including the severity of the actual damages, the defendant’s conduct and the victim’s age and general state of health prior to the accident .
Punitive damages are also occasionally awarded in tort cases. Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant and, as such, are generally limited to situations where the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious. Examples of cases where punitive damages may also be awarded are tort product liability cases where actual and aggravated damages awards are not deemed sufficient to send a message to the manufacturer.
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