According to Florida case law as of the date of this article, the purpose of compensatory damages is to make an injured party whole to the extent that it is possible to measure such injury in monetary terms:
“Compensatory damages are designed to make the injured party whole to the extent that it is possible to measure such injury in monetary terms.” MCI Worldcom Network Servs., Inc. v. Mastec, Inc., 995 So.2d 221, 223 (Fla. 2008). A plaintiff “is not entitled to recover compensatory damages in excess of the amount which represents the loss actually inflicted by the action of the defendant.”
The purpose of compensatory damages is not to punish defendants or to “bestow a windfall on plaintiffs.” at 224 (quotation omitted). The Wards were already whole with regard to these incidental expenses. They cannot get the benefit of these expenses twice. See Kingswharf, Ltd. v. Kranz, 545 So.2d 276, 278 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (“Both counts were based on the same elements of damages, and there is clearly a duplication in the damages awarded. Double recovery on the same element of damages is prohibited.”).”
See: Deauville Hotel Management, LLC v. Ward – 219 So.3d 949 (2017)
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