Law of Damages (LPL4802)
The law of damages is that part of the law which indicates how the existence and extent of damage, as well as the proper amount
... [Show More] of damages or satisfaction, are to be determined in the case of delict, breach of contract or some other juristic fact providing for the payment of damages (for instance, legislation or insurance).
This subject consists of four main parts
the general principles regarding damage and compensation the measure of damages in the law of contract
the measure of damages in the law of delict certain procedural and other general matters
When contracts are concluded and delicts are committed, the need to compensate damage is often paramount. It follows that an infinite variety of persons may benefit from a working knowledge of the legal principles expounded in this subject. Persons in the legal profession, insurance industry, commerce, banking, advertising, medicine and accounting, are just a small number of those persons who come to mind.
Damages
How damages are calculated
If you suffer injury, loss or damage as a result of someone else's action or failure to act, you may claim damages or compensation from that person (the defendant) if you can prove that he or she committed:
• A breach of contract; or
• A civil wrong (delict) such as personal injury or defamation. In delict, the law imposes duties on everyone, whereas in contract the parties themselves make their own rules, which are binding on them alone. Generally, damages are aimed at putting you in the same position you would have been in had the breach of contract or civil wrong not occurred. Although most claims for damages are settled without the case going to court, a settlement is usually negotiated on the basis of what a court would be likely to award if it did have to make a ruling. The measure of damages depends on the type of claim:
BREACH OF CONTRACT Damages for breach of contract, such as buying and selling, are awarded on the principle that, through payment, the injured party must be placed in the same financial position he or she would have been in had the contract been properly performed.
INJURY Generally, damages for injury arising out of delict (civil wrong) denote the difference between the present financial state of the plaintiff and the state he or she would have been in had the delict not taken place. The damages cover actual loss, probable future loss, and compensation for pain and disability. (Seebreach of contract.)
DEFAMATION Where the plaintiff's personality has been impaired (as in defamation), compensation damages may be awarded for the resultant insult, indignity and suffering.
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