Learn It 5.2.5: What Is Tort Law?

Damages

The way a court remedies a wrong is by awarding monetary payment, referred to as “damages.”

compensatory vs. punitive damages

  • Compensatory damages are intended to compensate for the wrong and restore the plaintiff to their position before the wrong happened. The harm suffered by the plaintiff could be physical, economic, or mental.
  • Punitive damages are awarded in extreme cases where behavior is considered to be extremely socially unacceptable. In these cases, the significant punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant and deter similar behavior in the future.

In some cases such as lasting injury, it’s impossible to truly return the plaintiff to their previous condition. The monetary damages are an imperfect substitute intended to account for past and future expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Racial Profiling in Walmart[1]

Michael Mangum, a Black man, went to Walmart to buy a light bulb. While shopping, Mr. Mangum noticed a loss prevention employee, who was White, following him. When Mr. Mangum confronted the employee about being followed, the employee ordered him to leave. The employee said he would call the police and falsely claim that Mr. Mangum had threatened violence. While the police were called, they refused to arrest Mr. Mangum because they did not believe the employee.

Mr. Mangum sued Walmart for racial profiling. He asked to be compensated for suffering embarrassment, fear, humiliation, anger, and indignity. A jury agreed with him and awarded $400,000 in compensatory damages for his mental and emotional distress and $4 million in punitive damages.

Considering Walmart reported $572.8 billion in revenue in their 2022 annual report,[2] do you think $4 million is an amount that would make Walmart take action to prevent other instances of racial profiling in the future?

  1. Simonson, Amy. “A Black Customer Was Awarded $4.4 Million in Damages in Racial Profiling Lawsuit against Walmart.” CNN, August 23, 2022. https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/us/black-customer-racial-profiling-walmart/index.html. ↵
  2. “Walmart by the Numbers.” Accessed December 1, 2022. https://www.corporatereport.com/walmart/2022/ar/walmart-by-the-numbers/. ↵