Also known as: amount of loss · quantum of loss · loss amount
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A quantified monetary harm suffered by a party as a result of another's breach or tortious conduct. The amount must be established with reasonable certainty to support recovery beyond nominal damages.
After a car accident caused by a negligent driver, Amber Alonzo can no longer work as a nurse. At trial she presents expert testimony showing she would have earned $800,000 in wages over the next twenty years. The court reduces that figure to its present value before entering the lump-sum award.
Alexis Archer bought a car whose defective seatbacks collapsed in a minor collision. She sued the manufacturer and proved that the repairs would cost $12,000. The court accepted that figure as the amount of the loss and allowed the claim to proceed beyond nominal damages.
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A plaintiff who proves breach or a tort but cannot establish the amount of the loss with reasonable certainty receives only nominal damages. Courts award a small fixed sum to recognize the legal wrong even when no compensable harm is quantified.
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The amount of the loss must be shown with enough evidentiary support to permit a reasonable estimate. Conjectural or speculative figures are excluded, but documented out-of-pocket costs such as overtime wages or wasted marketing expenses satisfy the standard and support recovery beyond nominal damages.
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Yes. When a plaintiff alleges that a product defect requires specific repairs, the documented cost of those repairs quantifies the loss and permits the claim to proceed past the nominal-damages stage.
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…an equal share until the share of each insurer equals the lowest applicable limit of liability under any one policy or the full amount of the loss is paid, and with respect to any amount of loss not so paid the remaining insurers then continue to contribute equal shares of the remaining amount of the loss until each insurer has paid…