Legal Definitions - irreparable injury

Irreparable injury

Irreparable injury refers to harm or damage that cannot be fixed or repaired by a court order or compensation.

For example, if a company's trade secrets are leaked to a competitor, the company may suffer irreparable injury because the damage cannot be undone. Even if the court orders the competitor to stop using the trade secrets, the damage has already been done and cannot be reversed.

Another example is if a person's reputation is damaged by false accusations, the harm may be irreparable because even if the accusations are proven false, the damage to the person's reputation may still remain.

Irreparable injury means that the harm or damage is permanent and cannot be undone. The examples illustrate this by showing situations where the damage cannot be fixed by a court order or compensation. In the first example, even if the court orders the competitor to stop using the trade secrets, the damage has already been done and cannot be reversed. In the second example, even if the accusations are proven false, the damage to the person's reputation may still remain.