Facts
- Mr Gray was deliberately struck by a car
- He started civil proceedings
- These were simultaneous to criminal proceedings
Issue
- Define aggravated damages
Held
- Aggravated damages are awarded for the pain and suffering and humiliation caused in certain tortious actions. They were not awarded in this case.
- They will be very rarely be awarded
- They are compensatory damages and contrast against exemplary damages
Quote
“aggravated damages are given to compensate the plaintiff when the harm done to him by a wrongful act was aggravated by the manner in which the act was done: exemplary damages, on the other hand, are intended to punish the defendant.”
-- Download Gray v Motor Accident Commission [1998] HCA 70 as PDF --

