Eli5: How does some lawsuit cases ends up in one party paying up millions of dollars? (For example, the hot coffee incident with McDonalds)

Question

Eli5: How does some lawsuit cases ends up in one party paying up millions of dollars? (For example, the hot coffee incident with McDonalds)

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Answer 1

There are actual damages, like medical costs, loss of income, that can be easily quantified.

There are less obvious damages like loss of quality of life, pain and suffering, etc.

Then there are punitive damages, designed to punish the offending party and encourage better behavior. A $500 fine for me hurts more than a $500 fine to a corporation, so those punitive damages have to be higher.

Some cases have treble, triple, damages notable categories are tree damage and wage nonpayment.

And finally some cases award legal fees, though that seems less common than you’d think.