The money a court awards, or an insurer agrees to pay, as compensation for an injury. Damages are assessed under separate heads.
Damages are made up of separate heads: general damages for pain and suffering, past and future economic loss, past and future treatment and care, and in some cases interest. Each head is assessed on its own evidence and the total is the settlement sum or judgment.
Statutory schemes cap or restrict some heads. In Queensland general damages are fixed by the injury scale value; in New South Wales motor accident and workers compensation schemes limit which heads are available and when.