Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are money awarded to make up for the actual harm a person suffered. In an asbestos case they cover things like medical bills, lost wages, and non-economic losses such as pain, suffering, and loss of companionship. They're meant to compensate the victim, not to punish the defendant, which is the separate role of punitive damages.

Origin

The concept comes from centuries of common-law tort doctrine, where courts sought to restore the injured party, as nearly as money can, to the position they'd have been in without the wrong, an idea captured by the Latin phrase restitutio in integrum.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For a patient or family, compensatory damages are the heart of what an asbestos claim seeks to recover. They split into economic damages, the measurable costs like treatment, travel to specialists, and lost income, and non-economic damages, such as pain, disfigurement, and loss of quality of life. In wrongful death and survival claims, families may recover the deceased's medical costs plus their own loss of support and companionship. Documenting these losses thoroughly is what lets your legal team prove their value to a jury.

Example Sentence

The jury's compensatory damages award covered the couple's out-of-pocket cancer treatment and the retirement income lost after his mesothelioma diagnosis.

Related Terms

Punitive Damages, Economic Damages, Non-Economic Damages, Wrongful Death Claim, Survival Action, Pain and Suffering

Notes

• Keep every medical bill, receipt for travel and care, and pay record; these establish economic damages.
• A journal describing daily pain and activities you can no longer do can support non-economic damages.
• Ask your attorney whether your state caps or limits non-economic or punitive damages.