special damages
Special damages as a legal term has more than one meaning depending on the area of law and/or jurisdiction . In tort law, special damages are damages like car dents or medical expenses that can actually be ascertained, and they are contrasted with general damages , which refer to damages for things like intentional infliction of emotional distress which do not have a set monetary cost.
In contract law , special damages (also called consequential damages) refer to irregular damages such as physical injuries during a breach of contract , but general damages would refer to the damages expected from the contract being breached.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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