Legal Definitions - damnum infectum

Damnum infectum refers to a potential future harm or loss that has not yet occurred but is reasonably expected or threatened. It describes a situation where damage is imminent and foreseeable, prompting a need for preventative action or legal protection before the actual harm materializes.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Imagine a chemical plant located upstream from a residential community. During an inspection, it's discovered that the plant's waste disposal system is severely corroded and on the verge of leaking toxic chemicals into the river. While no residents have reported illness or property damage *yet*, environmental experts confirm that a leak is highly probable and would contaminate the community's water supply, causing significant health issues and property devaluation.

  This situation exemplifies damnum infectum because the actual harm (illness, property damage) has not occurred, but the imminent threat of contamination due to the failing disposal system creates a clear and apprehended future loss for the community.

• Consider a large, old billboard structure situated on commercial property next to a busy public sidewalk. A recent severe storm has visibly weakened the billboard's supports, and engineers have warned the property owner that the structure is now unstable and highly likely to collapse onto the sidewalk during the next strong wind, potentially injuring pedestrians.

  Here, the injury or damage from a collapse has not happened, but the clear and present danger posed by the unstable billboard represents a threatened loss, fitting the definition of damnum infectum.

• A construction company is building a new high-rise apartment complex. During the excavation phase, workers notice that the adjacent historical building, which shares a property line, is developing significant cracks in its foundation and exterior walls. Geotechnical engineers confirm that the ongoing excavation work is undermining the historical building's stability, making a partial collapse highly probable if preventative measures are not taken immediately.

  This is an example of damnum infectum because the collapse of the historical building has not occurred, but the identified structural stress caused by the excavation creates a clear and imminent threat of future loss and damage.