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Upon confinement the tort is complete. The plaintiff need not show or seek special damages. He may recover general damages, and damages related to any injuries that he suffered in any reasonable attempt to escape, even if it is unsuccessful.
In addition to recovery for emotional suffering and humiliation, one subjected to false imprisonment is entitled to compensation for other resultant harm, such as loss of time, physical discomfort or inconvenience, any resulting physical illness or injury to health, business interruption, and damage to reputation, as well as punitive damages in appropriate cases. (Prosser & Keeton, Torts, § 11, pp. 48-49.)
That tort 'is complete with even a brief restraint of the plaintiff's freedom'; 'it is not necessary that any damage result from it other than the confinement itself.' Prosser & Keeton, The Law of Torts § 11, at 48 (5th ed. 1984) ('Prosser & Keeton'). The compensatory damages that may be awarded for false imprisonment fall into two categories: general damages and special damages. See, e.g., McCormick, Handbook on the Law of Damages § 107, at 375-77 (1935) ('McCormick on Damages'). General damage is a 'harm of a sort inseparable from [the unlawful] restraint.' Id. at ...
