Damages

How Damages Are Awarded in Asbestos Claims

While no amount of money can undo the harm caused by someone else’s negligence, compensation serves as recognition of the damages suffered. It provides financial support for victims and their families, both now and for future needs.

Financial Support may include:

• Economic Damages Lost income
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Medication costs

These damages are awarded to reimburse the injured party for the financial impact of their injury or illness.

Non economic damages are more difficult to calculate, as they relate to subjective losses. These damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Loss of support
• Mental anguish
• Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are awarded in cases where the at fault party’s actions were particularly egregious or reckless. These damages serve to:

Deter future harmful actions by the responsible party

Punitive damages may be awarded in cases of severe negligence, such as asbestos exposure, where the responsible party knew about the dangers but failed to act.

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The five common types of negligence in personal injury law are Ordinary Negligence, Gross Negligence, Contributory Negligence, Comparative Negligence, and Vicarious Negligence, often distinguished by the degree of carelessness or how fault is shared, ranging from simple mistakes ordinary to reckless disregard gross and situations where the injured party also shares blame contributory/comparative or responsibility is transferred vicarious. Here are the five types:

• Ordinary Negligence: A failure to exercise the reasonable care a prudent person would under similar circumstances, leading to unintentional harm such as, a driver not noticing a pedestrian.
• Gross Negligence: A severe lack of care or reckless disregard for others' safety, far beyond ordinary carelessness such as, extreme medical neglect or drunk driving.
• Contributory Negligence: A doctrine where if the plaintiff is found even slightly at fault for their own injury, they are completely barred from recovering damages.
• Comparative Negligence: A system where the plaintiff's compensation is reduced proportionally to their percentage of fault for the injury.

Vicarious Negligence, Vicarious Liability or Other related types:

• Negligence Per Se: Negligence that occurs when someone violates statute or law designed to protect public safety, making their act automatically negligent such as, breaking a traffic law.
• Compensatory Damages Actual Damages
• To make the harmed party whole again, placing them in the financial position they would have been in had the harm not occurred.

Sub types:

• Economic Special Damages: Quantifiable, out of pocket losses like medical bills, lost wages, and property damage.
• Non Economic General Damages: Subjective, non monetary losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of consortium.
• Purpose: To punish the defendant for egregious conduct like fraud or malice and to deter others from similar actions, rather than compensating the victim.

  Purpose: Pre determined amounts specified within a contract that one party agrees to pay if they breach the agreement, serving as a pre agreed remedy.

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