mitigate

Intermediate ⚖️ Legal

Definition

The legal version of damage control—reducing the severity of harm, losses, or consequences rather than eliminating them entirely. In litigation, you have a duty to mitigate damages, meaning you can't just sit back and let things get worse then blame the other party. It's the court's way of saying "at least try to help yourself."

Example Usage

After the breach of contract, the plaintiff failed to mitigate damages by refusing reasonable alternative employment offers.

Source: Legal practice terminology

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