Remedies
In legal terms, remedies are court actions taken in civil cases in which the force of law is used in order to enforce rights, impose penalties or provide
compensation or protection to an injured or at-risk party. One example of a legal remedy is called a restraining order; an abused spouse or the victim of "stalking" may seek a court order in order to prevent an undesirable person from coming within 500 feet of them. A violation of this restraining order could result in the latter being arrested and/or fined.
A restraining order is an example of what in the U.S. is known as an equitable remedy; it consists of an injunction (prohibition of some action) or requires specific performance (an action that must be taken). Declaratory relief is yet another type of remedy. This is one in which the court determines the rights of the parties in without requiring or prohibiting a specific action or awarding monetary damages.
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When a legal remedy is spoken of, this generally means that a monetary award is involved; either the plaintiff is seeking compensation for medical costs, pain and suffering and loss of income, or they are asking the court to punish the defendant by awarding punitive damages. Usually, it is both, though plaintiffs are generally more successful at getting the former, as the latter can be highly subjective.
Medical costs and loss of income are considered specific damages; these can readily be measured and documented. Pain and suffering falls under the category of general damages; these are non-monetary losses such as physical pain and impairment, loss of companionship and/or consortium; reduction in the quality of life, etc. Although these are valid losses, they are difficult to quantify by any objective means.
Punitive damages essentially consists of a monetary fine against the defendant (usually a corporation or other legal entity), the purpose of which is to punish. These are frequently and successfully appealed, however.