ABSTRACT
Damages are special and general. Special damages must be specially pleaded and proved, and are awarded in respect of out-of-pocket expenses and loss of earnings actually incurred down to the date of the trial itself. They are generally capable of substantially exact calculation, or at least of being estimated with a close approximation to accuracy. The familiar examples are medical and surgical fees paid or payable, hospital expenses (if any) and loss of income. If the plaintiff has been employed at a fixed salary or wage, such loss of income can commonly be calculated precisely; but where he is self-employed, it must be estimated by reference to his past earnings. The basic principle, as far as these losses are concerned, is that the injured person should be placed, as far as money can do so, in the same financial position as he would have been in at the date of trial if no accident had happened. General damage, on the other hand, need not be pleaded specially, as the law implies it. It usually falls under these heads: (a) loss of future earnings or income; (b) pain and suffering; and (c) loss of ‘amenities’ or enjoyment of life. Admittedly, other items may be included in particular cases, such as future expenditure (for example, the cost of an artificial limb). By the very nature of the three usual heads, they are incapable of precise mathematical calculation, because the trial judge has to assess (a) with reference to an indefinite future, subject to vicissitudes and contingencies, and, as regards (b) and (c), make an award in money for
the injury itself, the pain and suffering from it and the overall effect on the plaintiff’s enjoyment of life, which do not really have equivalent money values.
