Damages

- The aim of damages is to put the claimant back in the position they would have been in if the injury or loss had never happened

- These are calculable losses

- incurred up to the date of the trial

- specific measurable losses (specific documentation is required):

    - pre-trial expenses:

       - medical costs (private treatment considered reasonable)

       - damage to property (replacing clothing, car etc...)

    - pre-trial loss of earnings:

       -the net loss after taking deductions for tax and national insurance into account

    - caring expenses:

       -eg. where a relative has given up work to look after the claimant

- Cannot be exactly itemised by bills

  - loss of future earnings

    - calculated using a multiplicand (the net annual loss of earnings resulting from C's injury)

    - multiplicand is multiplied by the multiplier (the notional number of years left in C's working life)

    - the multiplier is limited to 18 years (as possibility of illness is taken into account)

  - future medical expenses:

    - same multiplier is used when calculating costs of ongoing nursing care

- Damages awarded for the primary injury

  - eg. loss of limb

  - damages calculated according to the current "tariff" given by the Judicial Studies Board

- Damages awarded for pain and sufferring

   - both physical and mental (although C. must be aware of their pain and suffering ie. conscious)

- Damages awarded for loss of amenity

   - eg. loss of ability to carry out own care

   - eg. loss of ability to play sport

- Pecuniary loss is monetary loss

- Non-Pecuniary loss is non financial loss

- Mitigation means the claimant must not profit from the award and must do everything possible to minimise their loss (they musn't make the loss worse)

- originally made as a lump sum; now periodic payments must be considered

   - these are annual/monthly sum paid to the claimant

- privisional damges may be useful where the extent of the injury is unclear