Aggravation of damages

What does Aggravation of damages mean in American Law?

The definition of Aggravation of damages in the law of the United States, as defined by the lexicographer Arthur Leff in his legal dictionary is:

Making damages worse than they might otherwise have been; it refers to divers and dissimilar matters [and] situations of legal significance. If, e.g., a trespasser not only sets foot on another’s land, but levels the house or rapes the daughter, that will be pleaded as “matter in aggravation of damages.” Also, if a tortious act increases a preexisting injury, that too may “aggravate damages.” But malice or other evil intent may also lead to an “aggravation of damages,” i.e., to higher awarded damages

designed to punish the wrongdoer, i.e., to exemplary or punitive damages. Finally, the term may refer to the role of the plaintiff in increasing his own damages, e.g., by unreasonably failing to seek medical treatment, the rule being that the tortfeasor is not responsible for that portion of the plaintiff’s injury.