Types of Torts
When someone suffers harm due to another party’s actions—whether intentional or accidental—tort law provides a legal pathway for the injured party to seek compensation. Understanding the types of torts is crucial in determining the appropriate legal action and holding the responsible party accountable.
If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to another’s wrongdoing, consulting an experienced tort lawyer can help protect your rights and guide you through the legal process.
What is a Tort?
A tort is a civil wrong that occurs when one party’s actions or negligence cause harm to another, leading to legal liability. Unlike criminal law, which focuses on punishing offenders, tort law is designed to provide relief to the injured party by allowing them to seek monetary compensation for their losses.
Purpose of Tort Law
The primary goals of tort law are to compensate victims, deter harmful conduct, and promote justice. When a person suffers harm due to another’s wrongful act, tort law ensures they receive appropriate compensation for their losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress.
Additionally, by imposing liability on negligent or intentional wrongdoers, the tort law system helps deter future misconduct and encourages individuals and businesses to exercise reasonable care. Finally, the key legal principles of tort law uphold fairness by ensuring that victims have a legal avenue to hold the responsible party accountable.
Intentional Torts
Intentional torts occur when a person intentionally commits a wrongful act that causes harm to another individual or their property. Unlike negligence, where harm may result from a failure to exercise care as a reasonable person would, these types of torts involve deliberate actions.
In these civil cases, the injured party may pursue legal action to seek compensation for their damages. Intentional torts often arise in personal injury law cases and can lead to significant financial and emotional harm for victims.
Examples
One of the most common intentional torts is assault and battery, which involves threats of harm (assault) and actual physical contact (battery) without consent. For instance, if a person physically strikes another individual during an altercation, they may be held liable for battery.
Another example is false imprisonment, which occurs when someone unlawfully restrains or confines another person without their consent, such as in cases of shoplifting detentions that go beyond reasonable limits.
Trespass to land is another intentional tort that involves unauthorized entry onto another person’s property, while trespass to chattels refers to interference with another’s personal property, such as damaging or using someone’s belongings without permission.
Additionally, intentional infliction of emotional distress occurs when extreme and outrageous conduct causes severe psychological harm to another person. This can include repeated harassment or threats that lead to significant emotional trauma.
In the realm of reputation, defamation—which includes both libel (written statements) and slander (spoken statements)—occurs when false information is communicated to a third party, damaging a person’s reputation.
Lastly, fraud, or fraudulent misrepresentation, involves intentionally deceiving someone to gain an unfair advantage, often resulting in financial losses for the victim.
Intentional torts can have serious legal consequences, and victims may be entitled to monetary compensation to cover damages such as medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress.
Negligence Torts
Negligent torts occur when an individual or entity fails to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person. Unlike intentional torts, negligence involves unintentional actions or omissions that breach a legal duty owed to others.
In many civil cases, negligence is the primary legal basis for seeking compensation. To establish a negligence claim, the injured party must prove four key elements:
- Duty – The defendant owed a legal duty to the plaintiff to act with a certain level of care. For example, drivers have a duty to follow traffic laws to prevent harm to others.
- Breach – The defendant’s actions or omissions must demonstrate a failure to fulfill their duty.
- Causation – The plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s breach directly caused their injuries.
- Damages – The plaintiff must have suffered actual harm, such as physical injuries, financial losses, or emotional distress.
These elements form the foundation of tort cases, helping courts determine liability and award appropriate compensation to victims.
Examples
One of the most common examples of negligence is car accidents, where a driver’s failure to follow traffic laws leads to collisions and injuries. In such cases, victims may pursue compensation for their medical expenses, property damage, and other losses.
Another frequent type of negligent tort involves slip and fall accidents, which fall under premises liability. If a property owner fails to maintain safe conditions and someone is injured as a result, the owner may be held liable.
Medical malpractice is another form of negligence tort, occurring when healthcare providers fail to meet the accepted standard of care, causing harm to patients. This could include misdiagnoses, surgical errors, or improper treatment.
Additionally, product liability cases arise when manufacturers fail to ensure the safety of their products, leading to injuries caused by defective designs, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings.
Strict Liability Torts
Strict liability torts hold individuals or entities legally responsible for harm caused by their actions, regardless of intent or negligence. In strict liability torts, the injured party does not need to prove that the defendant acted negligently or with wrongful intent—tort liability is imposed simply because the activity or product involved poses inherent risks.
Strict liability is often applied in situations where public safety is a primary concern, ensuring that those engaging in dangerous activities or producing potentially hazardous products are held accountable for any resulting harm.
Examples
One common area of strict liability is defective products, where manufacturers, distributors, or retailers can be held liable for tortious injuries caused by unsafe or faulty products.
Whether due to design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warnings, a defective product can result in serious harm to consumers. Under strict liability, the injured party does not need to prove negligence but must demonstrate that the product was defective and directly caused their injury.
Another example involves abnormally dangerous activities, which are inherently risky and cannot be made completely safe, even with the exercise of reasonable care.
Activities such as using explosives, handling toxic chemicals, or keeping wild animals fall under this category. If someone is injured as a result of these activities, the responsible party may be strictly liable, even if they took precautions to prevent harm.
Strict liability plays an important role in protecting consumers and the general public from harm by ensuring that those engaging in high-risk activities or producing dangerous products are held liable for any resulting injuries.
Damages in Tort Cases
In tort cases, victims may be entitled to different types of damages intended to compensate for their losses and, in some cases, to punish the wrongdoer. The goal of these damages is to restore the injured party to the position they were in before the harm occurred.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are intended to reimburse the victim for actual losses suffered due to the defendant’s actions.
Economic damages cover measurable financial losses such as medical bills, lost wages, and costs related to property damage. Victims may recover expenses related to past and future medical treatment, rehabilitation, and other expenses related to their injury.
Non-economic damages are more subjective and compensate for intangible losses, including emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. For example, in personal injury cases, a victim who suffered a permanent disability may be compensated for their reduced quality of life.
Punitive Damages
Unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are awarded to punish the defendant for particularly reckless or egregious conduct. These damages serve to deter others from engaging in similar harmful behavior.
Civil courts may award punitive damages in cases involving gross negligence or intentional act of harm, such as fraud or malicious wrongdoing.
Secure Expert Legal Counsel!
At Grissim & Waterman, we have extensive experience handling a wide range of tort cases for clients in Nashville and throughout Tennessee. Our firm understands the challenges that come with pursuing a tort claim, and we are committed to fighting for your rights and securing fair compensation for your losses.
Call (615) 255-9999 or fill out our contact form to book a free consultation with a personal injury attorney in Nashville.
