damages Money

   awarded by a court to a plaintiff for injury or loss caused by the defendant. Types of damages include the following: compensatory damages, intended to make good or replace the loss suffered; consequential damages, when there is a breach of contract by a seller and a buyer suffers losses from unfulfilled requirements that the seller knew of, or should have known of, when the contract was agreed to; general damages, a type of compensatory damages related to nonmonetary losses, covering pain and suffering, shortened life expectancy, loss of companionship, and loss of reputation (in libel and slander actions); incidental damages, when there is a breach of contract by a seller (e.g., the expenses incurred by the buyer to return the goods to the seller); nominal damages, an insignificant amount awarded when a defendant has violated the rights of the plaintiff but no monetary loss has been suffered or can be proved (also known as token damages); punitive damages, awarded in addition to compensatory damages to the victim of willful or malicious misconduct (also known as exemplary damages); special damages, awarded to cover the winning party's out-of-pocket costs (e.g., medical expenses, loss of wages, repair fees, car rental costs if a car has been damaged); statutory damages, required by statutory law; and treble damages, the actual damages determined by a judge or jury, multiplied by three to punish the wrongdoer and to serve as an example.