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.
More information about Damages
Parents File Lawsuit After Deadly School Bus Accident
The parents of a teenage boy have filed suit against Autumn Transportation following a crash that injured their son and caused emotional turmoil when his friend was killed in the crash, reports the Connecticut News. The parents are suing on behalf of their son according to Connecticut law since the boy is a minor.
The bus went off the highway after it collided with a Volvo station wagon. The suit alleges the bus company allowed a driver who did not have proper training and licensing to drive the school bus, and further claims the company does not adequately supervise or train its drivers. The bus driver’s license has since been suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Also named in the suit are the bus driver and the teen driver of the Volvo for failing to take necessary precautions to avoid an accident. […]
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Homeless Man Awarded $41,000 for Fraternity Shooting Incident
A homeless man who was shot with a .22 caliber rifle by an Oregon State University fraternity member has been awarded over $6,000 for medical expenses and $35,000 in non-economic damages, totaling over $40,000.
The jury found both the Association of Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) and a former member responsible for the 2006 shooting, according to news reports. The national organization was not held responsible.
Witnesses testified that the fraternity members were known to shoot BB guns from the fraternity building windows and had talked about shooting homeless people with BB guns, news reports stated. After a search of the fraternity house, police found more than 24 firearms. The guns are allowed according to the AGR guidelines as long as they are securely locked.
The individual found liable in the case testified he was aiming at a dumpster and not the homeless man. […]
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$4.4 Million Awarded to Family In Automobile Wrongful Death Case
Department of transportation and subcontractor negligent for car accident
A Utah 4th District Court jury has awarded the family of a man killed in a traffic accident in 2006 almost $4.4 million, reports The Salt Lake Tribune.
Due to state law caps on damages against the state and the victim’s share of the responsibility, the award will be reduced by almost $2 million.
The family of the Payson man sued the state Department of Transportation and a subcontractor for failing to post appropriate signs warning of traffic delays as they were working on the reconstruction of a bridge. The man was killed as he came over the crest of a hill and tried to swerve to miss the driver ahead of him who slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting cars stopped because of the bridge project. He crashed his vehicle and died 13 days later. […]
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$3.5 Million Awarded In Wrongful Death Logging Truck Accident
Speeding truck with faulty brakes causes fatal trucking crash
A Chilton County, Alabama jury has awarded $3.5 million to the family of a man killed when the van he was driving was crushed between two logging trucks, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.
Ken Gorum Trucking and Gary Fruge, the driver of the logging truck, were held responsible for the accident and have been ordered to pay the award. The jury found Fruge was speeding, and the truck had defective brakes, when it crashed into the victim’s van.
The victim’s car was pushed into the logs on the truck in front of him, causing the logs to come through his windshield – one went through his head and killed him. Although the driver claims he was going only 45 miles per hour, evidence suggests he was traveling between 65 and 75 mph.
Progressive Insurance Co, […]
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$16 Million Settlement in Texas Tractor-Trailer Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Poorly secured equipment crushes woman’s car in tractor trailer accident
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports a $16 million settlement has been reached in the wrongful death lawsuit between the family of a 41-year-old woman and Pioneer Drilling. The woman died in September as a result heavy equipment flying off an 18-wheeler into her car. The equipment was being hauled to a gas-drilling site.
A 24,000-pound counterweight and a 4,000-pound spreader bar fell off the tractor trailer, and the spreader crushed the woman’s car.
Investigators found the equipment was secured by only two chains instead of the four that are required and the driver did not control his speed. Also, the truck driver was a truck driver’s helper and did not meet state and federal safety guidelines to drive an 18-wheeler by alone. In his testimony, the truck driver admitted that he and other Pioneer employees back-dated documents showing that he was qualified to drive a week before the crash. […]
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