Compensatory Damages

In a civil lawsuit, compensatory damages are money awarded to a plaintiff that compensates for damages, money lost, injury, and future monetary losses. The courts in California break compensatory damages down into two types: special and general.

Author: Douglas Wade, Attorney

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Compensatory damages compensate a party that has suffered harm or injury caused by another party. Compensatory damages are ones that reimburse the plaintiff for the losses they suffered due to the defendant’s actions. In civil lawsuits, compensatory damages are damages awarded by a court equivalent to the loss a party suffered. They can include things like:

Cost of repairing or replacing damaged property
Cost of medical treatment
Pain and suffering
Future lost wages
Lost wages
Renovations on property to make it accessible if the plaintiff was disabled in the accident
Ambulance expenses
Cost of medical equipment

In order to receive compensatory damages, the plaintiff and their legal team must prove that the cost was incurred due to the defendant’s actions. They must also show proof of the cost. For costs already incurred, they can show invoices, receipts, and bills. For ongoing costs and costs they may incur in the future, they can show quotes or expert testimony to prove the cost.

The two types of compensatory damages are actual damages and general damages. Actual damages are tangible damages where the plaintiff will have a receipt or bill to prove the costs they incurred. General damages are intangible damages for things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, and future costs the plaintiff may face. Loss of consortium is a type of general compensatory damages that compensate the plaintiff’s spouse for their partner no longer being the person they were and unable to help with child-rearing or a source of emotional support.

In this article, our civil litigation attorney in San Diego will discuss compensatory damages as follows:

1. What are the two types of compensatory damages? General damages vs Special damages

2. What is the difference between compensatory damages and punitive damages?

What are the two types of compensatory damages? General damages vs Special damages

There are two separate types of compensatory damages: special damages and compensatory damages. Special Damages are actual money lost. Examples of special damages include: cost to repair or replace an item; medical bills, lost wages, cost of services related harm to the plaintiff. General damages refer to damages that flow naturally from the wrongdoing. General damages are the non-economic damages. General damages are not specifically monetary. Examples of general damages include: loss of companionship and support; diminished quality of life (relying on others, lack of mobility, etc.); physical pain and suffering (compensation for being in pain); mental pain and anguish (trauma, stress and anxiety); physical injury or impairment (disfigurement or disability).

Special Damages (aka: Actual damages)

Special damages – also called actual damages – are tangible damages that have a cost assigned to them, like medical bills or repair bills. There is no guesswork, because there is a cost that the world assigns to them. The role of actual compensatory damages is to reimburse the defendant for their financial losses as a result of the defendant’s actions. This can include things like medical bills, lost wages while the defendant was in the hospital or unable to work, property damage, and the cost of medicine and medical equipment.

General Damages

General compensatory damages are intangible damages and reimburse the defendant for the way their life may have changed due to the defendant’s actions. They take into account that the defendant may never be able to work again, that they will need lifelong treatment, or they were permanently disabled or disfigured in the event. It includes things like pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, loss of opportunity, and loss of enjoyment of life. Often, it is hard to put a number to these types of compensatory damages, so the court will “rate” the severity and use that rating to multiply the actual compensatory damages. These are often rated on a case-by-case basis. For example, someone who hikes every weekend and loves active sports and was set for a career in baseball before the defendant’s actions caused them to be permanently disabled will receive a higher multiplier than someone who led a less active lifestyle. This is because the court will take into account how the accident and injury changed the plaintiff’s life.

Another form of general compensatory damages is future expenses. This includes loss of future income, future medical, treatment, and rehabilitation costs, and the future costs of home nurses or other care the plaintiff may need. An attorney will often work with expert witnesses like medical professionals and economists to work out future costs that the injuries may cause and how things like inflation and deteriorating health in old age may affect those costs too.

What is the difference between compensatory damages and punitive damages?

Punitive damages are designed to prevent others from being hurt by the same or similar actions. The compensatory damages awarded to plaintiffs are designed to give justice to them after being wronged. Punitive damages act as a punishment and deterrent rather than to compensate the plaintiff for their losses. Punitive damages are decided by the court on a case-by-case basis. In general, they are only applied to cases where the defendant deceived the plaintiff, or their actions were intentional and willfull rather than simply negligent. The court can set punitive damages as they see fit. These can often be quite high, especially in cases where the defendant is an entity in order to deter both the defendant and others from similar behavior in the future.

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