Incidental Damages

In one sentence

Extra costs directly caused by a breach, like shipping or storage fees.

Plain English

When someone breaks a contract, you often face small extra expenses beyond the main loss. These are incidental damages—the reasonable costs you incur trying to fix the problem or minimize harm. For example, if a supplier fails to deliver materials, you might pay rush fees to find another supplier or store the materials elsewhere. Courts award these costs because they're a natural result of the breach.

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Example

A contractor fails to deliver lumber on time, so you hire an expedited courier to get materials from another vendor and pay overtime to your workers. Those courier and overtime costs are incidental damages you can recover from the contractor.

Used in a sentence

“The buyer claimed both the cost of the defective goods and incidental damages for the extra shipping needed to get replacements.”

Related terms

Consequential Damages

Money awarded for indirect losses that result from a breach but are not the direct consequence of it.

Special Damages

Specific, measurable losses that result from a breach and must be proven with evidence.

Breach

A failure to do what a contract requires, such as not paying or not delivering.

Mitigation

A duty to reduce or minimize losses caused by the other party's breach.

Good Faith

An obligation to act honestly and fairly in performing or enforcing a contract.

Offer

A proposal to enter into a binding agreement on specific terms.

Acceptance

Agreeing to the exact terms of an offer, creating a binding contract.

Consideration

Something of value exchanged by each party to make a contract binding.

This page is a plain-English reference and is not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. For specific situations consult a licensed attorney.