Legal Definitions - injuria absque damno

Injuria absque damno is a Latin legal principle that translates to "injury without damage."

This term describes a situation where a person's legal rights have been technically violated, or a legal wrong has occurred, but this violation did not result in any actual, measurable harm, loss, or injury to them. In many areas of law, for a lawsuit seeking compensation (known as "damages") to be successful, the person bringing the claim (the plaintiff) must demonstrate not only that a legal wrong occurred but also that they suffered actual, quantifiable harm as a direct result. When there is injuria absque damno, meaning a wrong without actual damage, a claim for compensation may fail because the essential element of harm is missing.

• Example 1: Data Privacy Breach Without Consequence

  Imagine a company accidentally sends an email containing a customer's email address to another customer, which is a technical breach of data privacy regulations. However, the recipient immediately deletes the email without opening it, and the customer whose data was exposed suffers no spam, identity theft, or any other negative consequence. While a legal wrong (the data breach) occurred, there was no actual harm or damage to the customer.

• Example 2: Minor Contract Breach Without Financial Loss

  A supplier is contractually obligated to deliver a specific component by Tuesday. Due to an unforeseen minor delay, they deliver it on Wednesday morning. However, the receiving company had ample stock of the component, did not need it for production until Friday, and therefore suffered no disruption to their operations, no lost sales, and no additional costs due to the one-day delay. A breach of contract technically occurred, but without any actual financial or operational damage.

• Example 3: Procedural Error in an Application Process

  During the review of a building permit application, a city official makes a minor procedural error, such as failing to properly log a specific internal communication, which technically violates an administrative rule. However, this error had absolutely no impact on the thoroughness of the review, the speed of the decision, or the final outcome of the permit application, which was approved as it would have been otherwise. A procedural wrong occurred, but without causing any actual harm or disadvantage to the applicant.