Top 10 Common Types Of Damages In Private Lawsuits

Private lawsuits are lawsuits that one person brings against another, as opposed to criminal cases where a prosecutor brings a case against an accused criminal. When someone injures you negligently or intentionally, or if someone breaches a contract with you, you may want to consider bringing a private lawsuit. If you do, then you may wonder what damages you may recover. Read on for the top 10 common types of damages in private lawsuits.

1. Damages from breach of contract. If two parties contract to do something and one person does not, then the party who didn't fulfill his obligation can be sued for breach. When this occurs, the person who breached the contract will have to pay actual damages- or the amount of money lost by the other party as a result of his breach.
2. Specific performance: This remedy is available in a contract case in which the other person could not be monetarily compensated for the breach. In other words, if two parties contract for the sale of a very rare piece of art, the person who wants the art could sue for specific performance to make the other party give him the art as promised. Since money damages wouldn't allow the plaintiff to buy the rare art if there was only one copy in the world, the court may grant specific performance and require the sale.
3. Injunction: Like specific performance, an injunction is action on the part of the court that requires someone to do or not do something. An injunction is appropriate if there would again be no monetary compensation for a specific behavior. For example, if your neighbor wants to cut down your 100 year old tree, you may get an injunction to stop him from doing so.
4. Actual damages: These are available in a tort law case. If someone injures you and you have to pay $14,000 in medical bills and $1,000 to replace your damaged property as a result of the injury, you have suffered $15,000 in actual damages. The court in the tort action could require the other party to pay you that $15,000 back.
5. Lost wages: If someone injures you and you can't work, you will lose money on account of that. The court may require the defendant to pay your lost wages that occurred as a result of his negligence.
6. Pain and suffering: If you were injured, you likely experienced discomfort as a result of that injury. Pain and suffering damages are designed to provide you with monetary compensation to make up for that pain you experienced.
7. Emotional distress: Sometimes, a defendant's actions cause emotional distress to the plaintiff. For example, if a defendant runs over a child negligently and a mother watches her son get run over, that could cause emotional distress for the mother. This type of damages are designed to provide monetary compensation for the stress caused.
8. Wrongful death: These damages occur if a defendant's negligent or intentional actions result in the wrongful death of a victim. The lawsuit in this case is brought by the estate of the victim or by the victim's heirs and family members.
9. Loss of companionship/consortium: This is designed to compensate the family members of a victim who was injured or killed by someone else's negligence. If your family member was killed, you suffer damages by no longer having his companionship. These damages are designed to compensate you financially for that loss.
10. Punitive damages: These damages are designed not to make the plaintiff whole, but instead to punish the defendant. They are normally only appropriate in tort actions where the defendant acted intentionally or was so negligent that injury was almost sure to result.