In order to recover damages, a party must establish the existence and extent of damages, and the amount of recoverable damages varies widely depending on the parties, jurisdiction, and claims involved.
Factors in Determining What a Case Is Worth
Determining how much a case is worth is a very complicated question because there are many factors that influence the end result. Things that can influence the amount of an award include:
- Your age
- Good faith efforts to mitigate damages
- Your Education
- Your work experience
- Medical expenses
- Lost income, both past and future
- Jurisdictional limitations on damages
- Location where cause of action arose
- Strength of case
- Amount of fault
- Severity of injuries
- Future consequences of the injury
- How reprehensible the conduct was giving rise to suit
- Wealth of the parties
- Emotional distress
- Witness testimony
- The presence or absence of insurance
- Subjective items such as the jury's sympathy, the appearance of the injured, the likeability of the injured, juror perceptions, and the makeup of the jury
The only way to evaluate a case to determine what it may be worth is to fully investigate the cause, develop the damages, research the law, and evaluate all applicable factors. While there are broad ranges of values depending upon the clarity of liability and the nature and extent of the damages, there are no books, databases, or other tools that place a specific value on each case.
Types of Damages
General damages are the actual damages that are the natural consequence of the wrongful act. For example, damages for personal injury may be sought as general damages in an automobile accident case, while lost profits may be sought as general damages in a breach of contract case.
Nominal damages are not compensatory in nature, but rather serve as a token recognition of a "technical" violation of rights. In tort cases in general, if only the fact of damages but not their extent is proven, nominal damages may be awarded. For example, in an Ohio case, a patient sought damages from the state's department of mental health on the grounds that the department had provided improper psychiatric care and had used unsuitable restraints. The court in that case found that the care provided was appropriate, but found that the restraints used on the patient had been improper. The court found that the patient had not shown any damage resulting from the use of the restrains, and stated that where an invasion of a right occurred, but there was no evidence of a particular loss, only a small sum was recoverable by the person whose right had been invaded. The court noted that where only nominal damages were awarded, it was usual to fix the award at one dollar.
Punitive damages, also known as "exemplary" damages, are those damages generally designed to punish and to deter. In order to receive punitive damages, the plaintiff must usually prove that the defendant's conduct was malicious or outrageous. Most punitive damage awards are discretionary. Under the traditional common-law approach, the amount awarded is determined by a jury instructed to consider both the gravity of the act and the need to deter similar conduct. For example, in a civil action for damages filed by a prison inmate who was injured by another inmate who escaped from his cell, the trial court awarded nominal damages to the injured inmate, but awarded exemplary damages against the state's corrections department because the injured inmate showed that prison officials knew that cell doors installed at the facility could be closed in a way that made the doors look secured when actually they could be opened from inside.
Special damages are defined as those damages that do not necessarily or invariably flow from the particular wrong. Special damages must be reasonably foreseeable at the time of the injury in order to be recoverable. For example, if a party's conduct results in the flooding of another's land, the landowner could seek general damages for the harm done to the land, and could seek special damages for such things as lost crops, expenses of transporting himself and his family out of the flooded homestead, and the expenses of suitable lodging. The loss of crops, moving expenses, and lodging costs do not invariably flow from the flooding of someone's land, but such costs are reasonably foreseeable at the time of the injury.
Liquidated damages are damages specified in a contract as a remedy in the event of a breach. Liquidated damages must be reasonable in light of the anticipated or actual loss caused by the breach and the difficulties of proof of loss and must not impose a penalty on the breaching party. A lease or rental agreement is one common type of contract likely to contain a liquidated damages clause that would permit the landlord/lessor to recover liquidated damages in the event that the tenant/lessee breaches the contract by failing to comply with any terms therein.
Statutory damages are damages that are specifically provided for by statute. In American jurisprudence, each party traditionally bears his own attorney's fees. However, some statutes authorize the recovery of attorney's fees and/or other costs by the prevailing party.
Appealing a Damage Award
A damage award is a judgment of the court that renders it, and a damages award can be appealed to the same extent and in the same manner and timetable as any other judgment of that court. Parties to litigation can agree to accept an award of damages and to forego appeals. The agreement to abide by an award would be in the nature of a contract, and filing an appeal of the award would be a breach of the agreement.
Small Claims Cases
The jurisdiction of small claims courts varies from state to state. In general, such courts have jurisdictional limits on both the amount at issue and the nature of the case. Whether a small claims court can award damages for such things as travel, lost wages, or anything other than actual damages depends on the authority conferred on that court. Whether a small claims court can issue an injunction or mandamus to compel a specific action will likewise depend on the jurisdiction conferred. Damage awards, like other judgments of a small claims court can be appealed. However, in some instances, an appeal of a judgment from a small claims court is heard by a superior court in a trial de novo.
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