What Are Damages?
Damages are compensation, usually in monetary form, awarded in a civil court case for an injury or loss caused by another person’s negligence.
What Are Damages?
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), damages are tangible and non-tangible losses that can be quantified and documented, providing direct financial assistance to an injured party. Examples of damages can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.
Damages are important in restoring the injured party to the position they would have been in had the wrongdoing not occurred. This concept is fundamental in both tort and contract law, where it addresses breaches of duty or contract, provides a financial measure of reparation, and is even more important in personal injury cases where the injured party receives compensatory damages for medical bills and pain and suffering.
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Minnesota Family Seeks Damages in Fatal Car Crash
The trustee of a teenager who died in a car crash near Claremont, MN, in 2010 is suing the driver and father of the car the teen rear-ended. The lawsuit seeks compensation for loss of aid, medical expenses and funeral expenses, as well as other compensation, according to the PostBulletin.com.
The deceased teen was in the second car traveling in a “caravan” of four cars on their way to a football game. When the driver of the lead car came upon a deer in the roadway he slammed on his brakes causing a chain-reaction collision. The injuries the teen sustained in the accident were fatal.
The lawsuit alleges the driver of the lead car was driving too fast and should have tapped his brakes to warn those following him of the obstacle in the road.
The suit seeks over $100,000, including $50,000 for “the loss of aid, […]
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Lawsuit Settled in HS Football Player’s Death
A 2006 lawsuit filed by the parents of a Henderson County, KY high school football player who died during practice has finally been settled. Although the terms of the settlement are sealed, both parties said they were glad to put the dispute behind them.
The lawsuit claimed negligence against several school personnel and a doctor, but the suit dragged on while the insurance companies continued to argue over which one bore the most responsibility, according to Kentucky.com.
The 16-year-old football player died during practice on a hot, humid day in July. The defendants claimed the teen died due to an underlying cardiac condition.
The father said his son’s death had played a part in changes to state law and athletic regulations that deal with heat. While he said the settlement was a “bitter pill to swallow,” he also said that without filing the suit they would not have gotten the details surrounding their son’s death. […]
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PA Jury Awards Over $11 Million to Plane Crash Victims
A Philadelphia, PA jury awarded two victims of a 2009 plane crash, who suffered significant, permanent injuries, over $11 million in damages. The pilot and her passenger both sustained third-degree burns over 35 percent of their bodies.
The lawsuit alleged the Cessna 337 Skymaster twin-engine aircraft in which they were flying crashed shortly after takeoff due to “ineffective inspections and maintenance.” The plane crashed into a water treatment plant in Georgia after losing power in one of its engines. The second engine could not handle the extra load due to problems to it as well.
The pilot’s injuries have prevented her from returning to work as an airline pilot. She was awarded $6.458 million, which was reduced by 20 percent because of her attributable negligence, according to the court docket.
The passenger, who was a doctor, has been able to return to his work performing cancer dermatological surgeries. […]
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NJ Man Awarded $4 Million in Overdose of Drug at Party
Xanax Lawsuit
A New Jersey man has been awarded more than $4 million after he suffered permanent nerve damage when he took the drug Xanax that was obtained illegally from a Ridgewood, NJ pharmacy. The drug was given to him at a 2007 party by a former employee of the pharmacy.
According to NJ.com, the lawsuit was filed against the pharmacy, several guests of the party where the then 17-year-old was given the drug, the party’s host, and the host’s mother. The drug was stolen from the pharmacy.
After the man took the drug he fell into a coma. However, the guests did not call 911 and waited a while before finally driving him to the hospital. The man’s nerve damage has impaired his ability to walk and talk, and he is now homebound trying to recuperate. According to his lawyer, […]
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Four Men Die in Christmas Day Car Crash
Police suspect speeding during suboptimal conditions to be the cause of crash
Deadly Maine Accident Leaves Four Dead
A tragic Christmas Day car crash in Palermo, Maine, left four men dead – two brothers in one vehicle, and a man and his father-in-law in another. The Bangor Daily News reports the two brothers were traveling on Route 3 in an SUV that apparently lost control and skidded sideways into the path of the other car, which struck the SUV broadside. All four men died at the scene. Police are continuing to investigate, but believe the SUV was traveling too fast for conditions after a light snow dusted the roadway. The brothers were aged 18 and 21-years-old. The two men were 64 and 83-years-old.
Two Teens Die in Florida Accident
Two teenagers, both 18-years-old, died in a Sunday evening car crash in Bradenton, FL, according to My Fox Tampa Bay. […]
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Segway to Pay $10 Million to Connecticut Man
Segway Payment
A Connecticut man was awarded $10 million in a lawsuit against Segway Inc. after the man fell from a Segway he was riding in Sept. 2009 and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Lawyers for the man claimed Segway staff should have supplied the man with a helmet.
The then 23-year-old man was riding in “the Segway Challenge” during a fundraising event at Southern Connecticut State University for the Special Olympics. The man rode the obstacle course, that was set up by Segway employees, with a blindfold on. He fell backwards off the Segway, hitting his head on the floor.
Segway employees are asked to wear helmets, however, the employees did not have any helmets available for those participating in the event. The man’s lawyer claimed that as a result of his brain injury, the accident victim had to drop out of college and has not been able to pursue his dream of becoming a police officer. […]
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Lawsuits Filed in the Indiana State Fair Stage Collapse
According to CBS News, lawsuits in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse on August 13, 2011, are now moving forward. In addition to Sugarland, the band that was to perform that evening, producers, stage riggers and others were named in the suits. Wind gusts over 60 mph caused the stage to collapse prior to Sugarland taking the stage killing seven people and injuring over 40 others.
As bad weather approached the area, fairgoers remained in their seats anticipating Sugarland’s performance. No word was given as to whether the show would go on. CBS News reports Sugarland’s contract specified the act had the final say on whether to cancel the concert due to weather.
One joint lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for 44 survivors and family members of four people who died. Nearly 20 law firms across Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky are representing the interests of the plaintiffs. […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – PA Woman Dies in Crash
Woman was ejected from the car in the single-car accident
Florida Woman Rescued When Car Plunges into Canal
A Palm Beach County deputy saved a woman from drowning after she crashed her car into a 20-foot-deep canal. The woman was driving home after working the night shift at Target on Black Friday. The 36-year-old woman who apparently fell asleep at the wheel near Muck City Road and Conners Highway in Pahokee, FL awoke in the canal and called 911. She is not able to swim and the deputy arrived in time to pull her to safety. She was treated at a local hospital and released.
Fatal NC Accident
An SUV traveling westbound on N.C. 211 unexpectedly slowed and attempted to make a U-turn when it was struck by a tractor-trailer Monday morning. The driver of the tractor-trailer, traveling behind the SUV, […]
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Ford Motor Company Found Negligent in $73 Million Lawsuit
The Sacramento Bee reports a Sacramento Superior Court jury found Ford Motor Company negligent in informing dealers and owners of defective tires on their E-350 Econoline van, and they must pay $73 million for a crash that killed two people and injured two.
The accident happened more than seven years ago in Kern County, CA after the tread on the rear right tire separated causing the van to skid off I-5 flipping at least four times. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, who settled out of court, had contacted Ford alerting them of the tire defect. Ford did not distribute that information to their dealers or customers.
The auto company must pay $50 million in punitive damages to the families in the suit. The remaining amount in damages was distributed to the family of a man who died in the accident, and the two others injured. The family of the second man who died in the accident previously settled their lawsuit. […]
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Kentucky Woman Awarded Over $800,000 in Tractor-Trailer Crash
A Kentucky woman was awarded more than $800,000 by a Vanderburgh Superior Court jury for injuries she suffered in a 2008 vehicle accident with a Fat Boys Trucking semi. The tractor-trailer driver was cited for disregarding a traffic signal after he ran a red light at U.S. 41 and Indiana 57 in Evansville, KY and struck the woman’s van.
The woman has been unable to work since suffering knee and shoulder injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident, according to her lawyer. The lawsuit was filed seeking compensatory damages against the trucking company.
The woman was traveling westbound on Indiana 57 attempting to turn south onto U.S. 41. when her Dodge Caravan was struck by the semi as it came through the traffic light. The woman’s van then went to the left, overturning on its side. The truck was hauling over 100 cattle from Kentucky to Kansas. […]
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GA Men’s Club to Pay $1.75 Million for Over-Serving Alcohol Leading to Deadly Crash
The family of a woman who was killed in a vehicle accident with a drunk driver, who had just left a men’s club in Conley, GA, outside Atlanta, will receive $1.75 million from the club. The driver had a blood alcohol content of .398, nearly 5 times over the legal limit, at the time of the accident.
The drunk driver was driving his Lincoln Town Car the wrong way on I-20 eastbound in July 2008 and slammed head-on into the victim’s car. Both drivers died at the scene of the accident. A passenger in the woman’s car died enroute to the local hospital.
The lawsuit alleged that Club Blaze should have known the man was intoxicated and should have stopped serving him. The jury found that the club over-served alcohol to the man.
If you have been injured or a loved one killed in a vehicle accident that was caused by another person’s carelessness or recklessness, […]
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Nebraska County Found Liable for Accident Due to Poor Signage
A Nebraska jury awarded a 24-year-old Michigan man $407,000 to be paid by Furnas County, Nebraska for the county’s failure to adequately mark a sharp turn in a road where the man crashed his car leaving him with significant injuries.
The judge in the case found the man 40% liable and the county 60% liable. This reduced the amount of the original award of $678,000 for the county. The man was not wearing a seatbelt and was speeding at the time of the accident. The judge ruled that the signage at the accident site could not be seen at night, and it was placed too close to the 90-degree turn, giving drivers inadequate time to react.
The accident occurred in December 2007, when the man missed the turn and drove off the road causing his car to flip, trapping in the car for hours. He suffered spinal cord damage requiring multiple surgeries and weeks of hospitalization. […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – Three Die in NY Head-on Collision
Ford Explorer drifts into oncoming lane causing fatal head-on car accident
Three Die in New York Accident
A head-on collision Monday morning between a Ford Explorer and a GMC Jimmy near Bethel, New York killed three people and injured one. According to police, the Ford Explorer carrying two passengers, was heading east on 17B between White Lake and Fosterdale and drifted into the west bound lanes colliding with the GMC. The driver of the GMC was wearing his seat belt and his airbag deployed, but he was pinned in the vehicle and died at the scene. The driver of the Explorer and a back seat passenger, neither of which were wearing their seatbelts, were both ejected and died at the scene. The front seat passenger was wearing his seatbelt and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
NY Man Arrested for Vehicular Manslaughter After Accident
A Freeport, […]
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Pennsylvania Family Awarded $2.9 Million in DUI-Hit-and-Run
The family of a 14-year-old Bensalem, Pennsylvania girl who was killed in a 2004 hit-and-run crash while she was trying to cross a road has been awarded $2.9 million by a Bucks County judge. The case was decided without a jury.
The 21-year-old driver that struck the girl was driving with a suspended license and was found to be intoxicated at the time of the crash. The police did not charge him with DUI-related hit-and-run saying that road condition and other factors, not his drunkenness, caused the crash. The driver, however, was sentenced to three to six years in a state prison for the accident, and is currently in jail.
The family of the deceased brought a civil trial against the driver and the owner of the vehicle the man was driving. According to PhillyBurbs.com, the judge awarded the plaintiffs $697,749.92 in wrongful death damages against both defendants; […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – NJ Town Mourns Four Teenagers
Teen driver loses control of SUV killing four of the eight teen passengers in tragic accident
Four Teenagers Die in NJ SUV Accident
In a tragic single-car accident on Sunday, four teenage football players from Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, NJ lost their lives, and four others were injured, as they headed to a team brunch. The 17-year-old driver apparently lost control of his SUV, on the Garden State Parkway around 11:45am, as he rounded a crest and came upon heavy traffic, causing the vehicle to flip several times, ejecting two of the passengers. All eight of the boys, aged 15-17 years-old, were riding in the same vehicle.
NC Accident Kills Three Generations of Women
An SUV carrying eight family members on a return trip home to New York, after vacationing in Florida, crashed on I-95 near Raleigh, NC. According to police, […]
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PATCO to Pay $10 Million in Crash Settlement
After only twenty minutes into a car accident trial last week, a recess was called and the two parties came to agreement on a $10 million settlement to be paid by the Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO). The transit authority had admitted before trial that its truck driver was liable for the collision.
A 55-year-old Berlin, NJ man was driving to work in July 2007 when he was struck by a PATCO truck in Philadelphia, PA. The man had just crossed a bridge into Philadelphia when the PATCO driver ran a red light and shoved the man’s vehicle into a median strip. The accident resulted in shattered bones and a broken ankle to the driver.
The man has since undergone 12 surgeries and a painful debriding procedure to try to rid the leg of a serious infection which had begun to cause his flesh to rot. […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – Teens Involved in Serious VA and NY Accidents
Car accidents claim lives around the United States
Two Teens Killed in Portsmouth, VA Car Accident on Elmhurst Lane
A car accident in Portsmouth, VA late Saturday night left two teenagers dead and one seriously injured. The accident that occurred on Elmhurst Lane near Victory Boulevard apparently was the result of speeding. The car swerved off the road then struck several trees and a utility pole ejecting two of the occupants and pinning the third in the car. The two girls that died were 16-years-old. The third occupant, a 17-year-old male, was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. Police are unsure of who was driving the car.
Former KY Governor’s Son Dead After Single-Car Wreck
According to the Lexington-Herald Leader, former Kentucky governor Julian Carroll’s son, Bradley, died in a single-car accident Sunday in Franklin County, KY. Carroll was traveling south on US 421 near the Versailles Road overpass when his Ford Explorer went off the right side of the road, […]
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San Diego Man Awarded $2.4 Million in Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit
San Diego Mesothelioma Lawsuit: Man Awarded $2.4 Million in Asbestos Exposure Case
A San Diego Navy Veteran who was diagnosed in 2010 with mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused cancer, was awarded $2.4 million in damages after his disease was found to be attributed to his work in ship boiler rooms.
The lawsuit, filed against John Crane, Inc., claimed the plaintiff was exposed to asbestos while serving in the Navy from 1961 to 1971 in his work in the maintenance and repair of boilers, pumps and valves. The suit claimed John Crane made some of the asbestos-containing packing material and gaskets in the equipment.
John Crane Asbestos Lawsuit: What the Verdict Means
The total damages of about $2.4 million include nearly $1.4 million in noneconomic damages and $450,000 for loss of consortium. The jury found John Crane five percent liable, the Navy and insulation companies 57 percent at fault, […]
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Car Accident Round-Up – CO Accident Takes Life of TX Billionaire
Texas billionaire broadsided by sports utility vehicle in Colorado
Texas Billionaire Dies in CO Car Accident
Charles Wyly, a 77-year-old Texas billionaire and philanthropist, died near Aspen, CO in a two-car crash on Sunday. Wyly, who was driving a Porsche, was turning back onto the highway near the airport, when his car was broadsided by a sport utility vehicle. Police believe Wyly failed to yield prior to entering the highway. Wyly, who was central to building the Dallas Arts District, was pronounced dead at the local hospital. The other driver suffered moderate injuries.
Rear-end Collision in FL on I-95 Kills One, Injures Two
A car stopped on the northbound lanes of I-95, north of Okeechobee Boulevard near exit 71, was rear-ended by another car early Sunday morning resulting in the death of a passenger, and serious injuries to the two drivers. The interstate was closed for close to four hours while rescue workers worked at the scene. […]
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Family of WVa Nursing Home Resident Who Received Poor Care Awarded $91.5 Million
The family of an elderly woman suffering from Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and several other conditions, received $91.5 million in damages from a Charleston, West Virginia nursing home. The elderly woman was a patient for just three weeks at Heartland of Charleston nursing home where the workers failed to feed and care for her leading to her death just one day after transferring to another facility.
The lawsuit alleged that while living with her son, the woman’s health had improved to where she could walk, speak and recognize family members. However, when she was checked into Heartland the staff confined the woman to a wheelchair, labeling her a fall risk.
The family’s lawyer argued that Heartland did not have enough staff to properly care for the woman and the other patients. Some former Heartland workers testified properly caring for all of the residents was impossible. […]
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