미국 불법행위법상 손해 개념

Damages in the US Torts Law

In the US Tort law, the term “damages” holds two meanings: damages per se and compensation for damages. Damages per se flow from an injury that indicates the invasion of legally protected interest. Damages are mainly accepted as a personal injury or a physical harm to property. Damages and related words, for example, injury, harm, loss, etc are commonly used mixed. However, in a strict sense, injury is distinguished from harm, which is a nonlegal word implying merely a detriment in fact. Whereas the infliction of harm does not always give rise to a cause of action of tort, there may be a cause of action although there has been no harm. Loss is a synonym of harm, but may include the failure to reap a gain to which the plaintiff is entitled. Compensation is one of the remedies in tort cases. It denotes the closest possible financial equivalent of the harm or the loss suffered by the plaintiff. Awarding compensatory damages in tort cases performs important functions such as 1) achieving corrective justice, 2) promoting deterrence by threatening defendant’s tortious act, and 3) recognizing the significance of the plaintiff’s loss and confirming the defendant’s responsibility for that loss.