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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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, swerved to miss the vehicle but ended up striking the driver’s door sending the vehicle up a 20-foot embankment. […]
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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. […]
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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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