We explain what a loss is, how the law understands it and various examples. Also, differences with harm and prejudice.
What is an injury?
In legal language, we speak of damages to refer to a patrimonial detriment suffered by a natural or legal person, consequence of the actions or omissions of a third party and that normally must be compensated by whoever causes it. In academia, however, it should not be confused with the concept of harm.
Damages are forms of material or moral impairment suffered by a person or their patrimonial assets (their property). Normally they are attributable to a person, legally considered as their contractual manager (if there is a contract through), criminal (if it is a criminal act) or quasi-delict.
Moral injuries are part of this, such as causing trauma or emotional suffering to another, ruining their reputation in society, or acting in a way that negatively affects their interests.
In the legal codes of the different countries, damages and their different forms of compensation are contemplated, always in accordance with the provisions of the law, in order to avoid the natural human tendency to respond to a damage with another or with a damage.
Examples of injury
Possible examples of injury are situations such as the following:
- When a business he defames his competitors, spreading rumors regarding alleged irresponsibility that puts his clientele at mortal risk (rumors that cannot be proven in any way), he is causing them a loss, since he is ruining his public image, by putting his work in question .
- When a person takes longer than the account to return money to the person who loaned it, he is causing a loss, since said money could have generated him Profits to the lender of having been in his power. For that reason, compensation is usually demanded for the exceeded time.
- When a company breaches a contract with another according to which it was going to carry out work on which the other's profits depend, it causes them a loss, since their breach of contract causes the others a loss of time and money earned.
- When a person terrorizes another psychologically, harassing them in the street and violating their privacy in different ways, they are causing them criminal, that is, emotional and psychological damages for which they must be held responsible.
Difference between damages
Legally, damage and injury are distinguished, since the latter term applies to immaterial impairments (moral, emotional or of loss of profit), while the notion of damage is reserved for material impairments: destruction of property, theft of money or property, physical damage to a person, and so on.
It is for this reason that “damages” are often spoken of when it comes to encompassing all kinds of impairments punishable by law: both tangible and intangible, respectively.
Prejudice and prejudice
The term prejudice and the word prejudice are today totally different and have different meanings: while a prejudice is a legal damage, a prejudice is a prior judgment, that is, something that is assumed regarding something or someone before actually having the opportunity to judge him.
The confusion between both terms is common, because both come from Latin praeiudicium, translatable as "prior judgment" or "prejudge". But while "prejudice" remained similar to its origin and primary meaning, the other changed to periudicium, acquiring the sense of damage caused to someone, perhaps motivated by previous trials in which an innocent person was improperly judged, thus tarnishing their prestige and causing social damage.