What Is A Personal Injury Tort Claim?

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Perhaps you have come across the term “tort reform” and wondered what it meant. Alternatively, you may have gotten hurt in an incident and are curious as to whether you’ve got a valid claim. Torts can be injuries you sustain through civil acts(not criminal acts). As such, the damages are often unintentional. 

Regardless, tort claims can constitute anything from automobile accident injuries and attacks to privacy breaches and medical malpractice, just to name a few. Victims of tort claims should seek the counsel of professional attorneys from Hale law who can sufficiently represent their interests.  Beyond that, you should be familiar with tort claims beforehand.

Torts With Intention

Intentional torts occur when people or organizations intentionally perform actions that harm or damage other parties. For instance, when you physically hit other parties during fights, the law would regard it as intentional conduct. That falls under a battery tort; however, inadvertently striking other individuals wouldn’t count as purposeful as it doesn’t constitute any purpose of harm to the others. Instead, it can qualify as a negligent act, assuming there’s a victim who sustained injuries.

While the law may appear to be classifying intentional torts as criminal offenses, these kinds of torts have significant variances. Crimes are any acts of wrongdoing that can interfere with or harm a community’s interests. On the other hand, intentional torts are unlawful actions that hurt or affect the well-being of other individuals or their property.

Whereas it’s the state’s role to initiate criminal accusations against individuals, which can lead to fines or incarceration, it’s claimants who pursue tort charges demanding monetary restitution for the damages they need an offender to pay. Unlawful conduct can constitute a tort and a criminal action at the same time. Under several circumstances,  victims can collect more significant monetary damages through civil actions over criminal prosecution.

Here are a few instances of intentional torts;

  • Battery
  • Wrong incarceration
  • Conversion
  • Fraud and deceit
  • Assault
  • Defamation
  • Trespassing on property or land
  • Emotional discomfort(inflicted on purpose)

Negligence Tort

The law expects every individual to follow a set pattern of behavior. Therefore, the public has a legal responsibility to behave appropriately and limit any dangers of damages to other parties. Negligence, which refers to overlooking specific requirements, is one of the most prevalent types of tort.

In contrast to intentional torts, lawsuits associated with negligence don’t entail deliberate conduct. Negligent acts happen whenever parties fail to behave cautiously, causing harm to other people. There has to be a duty of care owed in such cases. Therefore, when individuals neglect their responsibility to act civilly, their mistakes can cause suffering or damage.

Motorists using a highway, for illustration, have the responsibility of driving at a safe pace. Should they exceed their speed limits by 20 kilometers, the law would consider that an act of irresponsibility. If said motorist proceeded to hit and injure another motorist or pedestrian, they would be liable for damages. Therefore, victims of such acts qualify for compensation under statute.

Slip and fall claims are other prominent types of carelessness torts that can arise whenever property owners fail to act reasonably, causing injuries to guests or clients. The law, for instance, obligates a cleaner to display a notice informing the public of wet floors after cleaning. Should they fail to post such information and other individuals suffer from falls leading to injuries, the victims can pursue a negligence tort action.

Here are examples of torts that can result from acts of negligence;

  • Car mishaps
  • Truck accidents
  • Accidents resulting from slips and falls
  • Motorcycle crashes
  • Pedestrian collisions
  • Malpractice during treatment
  • Bicycle accidents

Torts Of Strict Liability

Finally, some torts involve strict responsibility. Strict liability, which the law also refers to as absolute liability, applies when the victims can blame perpetrators for damages without evidence of carelessness or causal fault. In cases that involve absolute liability tort, victims have a right of recovery regardless of whether the liable party considered all reasonable precautions and didn’t deliberately cause any harm to them. Therefore, victims have to show that they sustained injuries resulting from the other party’s actions. What counts are the steps taken that result in harming other people.

During such instances, wounded clients just have to prove their injuries resulted from using the goods in issue for the law to side with them. The argument that a company had no malicious intentions against the customer becomes irrelevant.

Cases involving faulty products or dog bites are instances where responsibility stands, notwithstanding intent. The following are instances of strict liability torts.

  • Products with flaws can constitute Product Liability
  • Attacks by animals, leading to dog bite lawsuits
  • Extremely hazardous activities

If you have a matter that fits any of the above descriptions, get in touch with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your best course of action.

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