Criminal courts can take away a person's freedom and even life. The civil
courts are usually limited to taking away the defendant's money or prohibiting
certain conduct. In the special case of family law jurisdiction, the courts may
also determine the custody of children and use imprisonment to enforce their
orders to pay money. In general, however, the civil courts are a useful
recourse only if the defendant has enough money to pay a judgment. We are
unwilling to incarcerate a person for being unable to pay a debt.
While the parties usually dispute the amount of money at issue, paying money is
a logical way to resolve the dispute. The business deal has a certain value, as
does the land. While the monetary value of a personal injury is more difficult
to quantify, it is possible to assess the costs of medical care, lost wages,
and so forth and arrive at an award that will compensate the plaintiff for
injuries. This reduction of personal injuries to monetary damages is an
emotional issue in medical malpractice litigation. In the case of severe
injuries or injuries to children, money will not make the plaintiff whole. Few
people would trade a child's health for a monetary award. Conversely, most
physician defendants believe that it is their good name that is at issue rather
than their insurance company's money. This debate is usually framed in terms of
whether plaintiffs should be compensated for pain and suffering in addition to
actual monetary losses. There are other economic concerns involved in this
debate over the adequacy of awards in medical malpractice (see Chapter 4).
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