Personal Injury FAQs on Tort

What is “tort?”

Torts are civil wrongs that involve implied responsibility and result in injury or harm to a person or property. These wrongs are recognized under law and can be grounds for a lawsuit. A tort lawsuit, or personal injury case, can be redressed by awarding damages or monetary compensation to the victim or the injured person.

What is Tort Law?

Tort law is a state-created law by judges through common law, and by legislatures through statutory law. The primary aim of this law is to provide support for the damages incurred from the wrongdoing and avoid people from causing injuries or harm to others by discouraging them. Some torts also aim to punish the wrongdoer with imprisonment.

Personal injury and tort law are considered as civil proceedings from a failure to act or from a breach of duty to act. The victim or the injured is known as the plaintiff while the person whose action or inaction caused the injury is the defendant or tortfeasor. Tort law’s definition also covers concepts related to aspects of substantive and procedural personal injury law.

What are the common torts?

Some of the examples of torts include:

• Assault
• Defective medications or products
• Drowning accidents
• Intentional infliction of emotional anguish
• Medical or professional malpractice
• Negligence
• Police brutality
• Slip and fall
• Toxic torts/ chemical exposure
• Trespassing
• Vehicular accidents

What are the three main types of torts?

• Negligence – The failure of exercising reasonable standard of care, resulting to harm. The cause is usually unintentional, and its elements are the duty to act, breach of the duty, causation, and harm. Failure to obey traffic rules and slip and fall are under negligence.
• Strict Liability – In Strict Liability, negligence and intent don’t have to be present. It focuses, however, on the inherent danger that poses undue risk to others. Defective medication and product liability fall under this type.
• Intentional Tort – To be intentional, the wrongdoer should have the intent to harm. The defendant knew or should have known that his actions or inactions would result to injury or harm. Intentional torts may also involve criminal action. Examples of this type include assault, battery, defamation, fraud, etc.

What kind of personal injury damages may be awarded?

Nominal damages, general damages and compensatory damages, and even punitive damages, if applicable, may be awarded to the plaintiff if proven that the defendant did commit tort. Also, there may also be damages for physical injury to property.