Special damages vs general damages

Special damages and general damages are the two main heads of compensation in a Malaysian personal injury claim, and they work in different ways.

Special damages cover costs you have actually paid, such as medical bills, transport and lost pay before trial, and every item must be pleaded and backed by a receipt or record. General damages, by contrast, compensate the pain, suffering and loss of amenities the injury has caused, and the court estimates this using medical evidence and a published guide.^[1]

Both heads are usually claimed together in the same case, and each depends on a different kind of evidence, so neither should be neglected while preparing a claim.

How compensation is worked out explains how the two heads combine.