Additional Damages Law and Legal Definition
Additional damages means damages guaranteed in addition to direct damages by statute. Additional damages are derivative of actual damages and include consequential damages or expenses resulting from injury. It is granted by court over and above the damages that are necessary to compensate the injured. Usually a large number of factors are considered by the court in awarding additional damages. For example, while awarding additional damages in a Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the factors that taken into consideration includes (1) the nature of the wrong, (2) the character of the conduct involved, (3) the degree of culpability of the wrongdoer, (4) the situation and sensibilities of the parties concerned, and (5) the extent to which such conduct offends a public sense of justice and propriety. Additional damages are also known as exemplary or punitive damages.
The purpose behind awarding additional damages is to punish the wrongdoer and provide retribution, to act as a deterrent to the wrongdoer and others, and to express the court’s disapproval to such conduct.
