Maryland Civil Litigation Damages

An experienced civil litigations attorney will estimate the damages by looking at the severity of injuries. They might use databases that list what juries were awarded in similar cases for similar types of injuries. They examine the medical records to understand the severity of the injuries based on the medical treatment and the length of the treatment. The attorney estimates potential damages in contract cases by looking at what caused the party to be involved in the contract. They solicit an expert opinion to put together a reasonable expectation on what the damages would be, given the facts. Read below to learn more about Maryland civil litigation damages.

Election of Remedies

In a Maryland civil litigation case, an election of remedies is when the party in a lawsuit has the ability to choose the manner in which they receive damages, such as damages that relate to reliance or which relate to what they would have had had the deal at issue been fulfilled. That may be what they would have received had there been no issues and the other party performed as expected. They might choose to receive the cost of the actual damages or have something repaired or replaced.

What is Double Recovery?

A double recovery is when a plaintiff tries to get more than they are entitled to and it is not permitted. The law tries to make the person whole for their loss and not give them a bonus for their loss. Double recovery is a way to give someone more than they would ever recover, so the law does not allow it.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the damages someone suffers from the business impact that an event has on them. It could be lost wages or lost earnings. There might be a fire or other event that prohibits them from generating business the way they could before the event or someone may be interfering with their business. Economic damages are the monetary damages directly attributed to a person’s ordinary business practices.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are losses suffered by someone that is not caused immediately by the wrongful conduct of another person. One example is pain and suffering that results from an incident caused by another that cannot be quantified precisely but is more of the function of the court believing it is making the person whole.

Consequential Damages

Consequential damages are also known as special damages. They are the damages that result indirectly from the initial event. They are specific to the injured person’s circumstances. Consequential damages cannot be calculated with the same precision as economic damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are damages for subjective, non-monetary losses. They include intangible harms such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of reputation, and loss of the enjoyment of life.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are damages the court assigns when someone deliberately and intentionally does something to harm the other party. The court’s purpose when awarding punitive damages is to punish the behavior and send a message to the rest of the community that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

Nominal and Liquidated Damages

Nominal damages are damages of one dollar or less. They may be awarded when a legal wrong occurred, but there was no financial loss involved. Liquidated damages is a term for a predetermined sum included in a contract that must be paid if a party does not perform as promised.

Mitigation of Damages

Mitigation of damages is a duty that one has to reduce their damages. The defense is used to offset the injury that a party claims in the lawsuit. The defendant might claim that the other party did not try to avoid or reduce their damages when they could have considering the circumstances.

If you have any questions about Maryland civil litigation damages, get in touch with an attorney today.