ABSTRACT
Losses suffered as a result of a breach of contract are of three possible varieties, namely personal injury, property damage and economic loss. Since contracts are essentially concerned with the exchange of economic resources between the parties, it is more likely than not that the most frequently encountered loss resulting from a breach of contract will be of the economic variety. However, it should not be forgotten that a breach of contract might also result in physical harm to the person or to property. For example, defective food sold by a retailer is more likely to result in a complaint by the consumer that he/she has suffered some illness than a complaint to the effect that the food is not worth the amount paid for it at the checkout. Similarly, while a defective motor supplied for use by a lobster farmer may well cause economic loss in the form of lost profit if the motor malfunctions, but it is also just as likely to result in the death of the lobsters, thereby occasioning property damage as well.1
