Case
Hawkins v. McGee
Answer: Hawkins v. McGee. The decision teaches that contract remedies protect the expectation interest: the value of the promised “perfect” hand minus the value of the hand received, with proven incidental and consequential losses, but not tort-style pain and suffering beyond what the promised operation itself would have entailed.
Rule to remember
Hawkins v. McGee (the “Hairy Hand” case) is the classic contracts decision applying the expectation/benefit‑of‑the‑bargain measure to an express promise of a specific surgical result.
Key elements and checks
- Expectation damages: value of promised performance minus value received.
- Incidental and consequential damages may be added if proven.
- Contract damages generally exclude pain and suffering typical of tort recovery.
- Loss‑of‑bargain/benefit‑of‑the‑bargain is the operative measure here.
In the source’s words
“It intends to put the non-breaching party in as good of a position as if the breaching party fully performed their contractual duties.”
expectation damages | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
“The loss of bargain rule is a specific measure of expectation damages, which generally seek to give the injured party the benefit of the bargain.”
loss of bargain rule | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
State variation: Contract law generally prioritizes expectation damages; punitive damages for breach are rare and typically unavailable absent an independent tort. Tort claims may allow pain‑and‑suffering, unlike pure contract claims.