What are compensatory damages?

Compensatory damages are specifically designed to restore an injured party to their original state or to "make them whole" after a loss has occurred. This type of damage is calculated based on the actual loss or injury suffered by the individual, covering both tangible losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage, and intangible losses, such as pain and suffering. The primary goal of compensatory damages is to compensate the victim for their actual economic and non-economic losses, ensuring that they do not suffer financially as a result of someone else's actions.

The other options refer to different types of damages or classifications of legal costs that do not fit the definition of compensatory damages. For example, punitive damages are intended to punish the wrongdoer rather than restore the victim, while non-economic losses refer to a specific category of damages that may fall under compensatory damages but are not defining of the term itself. Legal fees, while they might be applicable in certain cases, do not constitute compensatory damages directly applicable to the injury incurred but rather are associated with the costs of pursuing legal action.