Question: In a civil case, who should bear the risk of any uncertainty as to the amount of damages if the facts demonstrate that damages were established?
Answer: Defendants bear the risk of any uncertainty as to the amount of damages they may have caused a plaintiff in a civil case. A person injured by the conduct of another is entitled to reasonable compensation. Damage awards for pain, suffering, fright, humiliation, and mental anguish are particularly within the province of the jury because they may not be reduced to fixed rules and mathematical precision. Those categories of damages inevitably involve the weighing of evidence and credibility of witnesses. Thus, where damages cannot be calculated with mathematical certainty, the jury has liberal discretion in assessing damages. However, even though juries have a great deal of discretion in assessing damage awards, this discretion, while broad, is not limitless. Where a damage award is so outrageous as to indicate the jury was motivated by passion, prejudice, partiality, or the consideration of improper evidence, the courts will find the award excessive. When the specific issue on review relates to questions of inadequate or excessive damages, a damage award should not be reversed by the reviewing court if the award was within the scope of the evidence before the trial court, and the reviewing court may not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of the witnesses who presented it.
