Parasitic Damages

In the realm of damages for civil cases, injuries, and lawsuits, there are a number of areas of damages
that are commonly seen and awarded. These include economic damages and other common types. One uncommonly
discussed area of damages is that of parasitic damages.

Parasitic damages are less common than the other types of damages because they are only allowed in a
few states. Unlike damages for economic injury, not all fifty states recognize a plaintiff’s right to
recover damages that are “parasitic.”

This area of damages is tied to emotional distress. In particular, the damages are awarded or occasioned
by anxiety that is due precisely to a reasonable fear of future harm attributable to the physical injury
caused by the negligence or intentional act of another. One area where parasitic damages are allowed
is if there is a reasonable fear of developing AIDS or of being diagnosed with HIV or some other sexually
transmitted disease following a sexual assault or some other situation where there is the possibility
of bodily fluids having been exchanged.

In order for the request for parasitic damages to be valid, there must be a verifiable causal connection
between the injury and the feared future result. Depending on the feared future problem, this can be
easy or difficult to prove. For example, an individual who has been diagnosed with HIV has a legitimate
fear of developing AIDS in the future. The same cannot be said for other situations.

Contact a Harrisburg Injury Lawyer

If you have been injured by someone else’s intentional or negligent actions, >contact the Harrisburg personal injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., at 610-667-7511.