Have you been accidentally injured? Did someone hit you intentionally or unintentionally? These are examples of a tort, a common phrase used in civil lawsuits. If you were walking down the aisle in any grocery store and mistakenly slipped on a banana that had fallen from the shelf and got injured, you can claim remuneration. The compensation includes medical bills, pain, and other expenses incurred as a result of that fall.
This post is all about personal injuries caused by the wrongdoing of someone. But before that, if you have experienced such injury and you think there’s no remedy, you’re wrong. You can consult an injury lawyer who will surely guide you through all the procedures right from filing to compensation.
What is a Tort?
The tort is the wrongdoing of one party that causes harm to another party. As a result of the wrongdoing, the sufferer may take legal actions against the acting party in the civil law court. The affected party, or the injured party, files a suit and becomes a plaintiff, while the other party becomes a tortfeasor (or defendant, in other words). The party causing injury was the negligent party.
Conditions of tort
- The tortfeasor is responsible for acting in a certain manner.
- It’s the responsibility of the plaintiff to prove in the civil court that there was negligence on the part of the defendant.
- As a result of that negligence, the injury occurred.
Torts are not criminal acts; this is why they’re dealt with in civil courts. They’re civil wrongdoings that cause harm or loss to anyone. It always results in a legal liability to be fulfilled by the tortfeasor. The punishment will not be incarceration or fine; it will be binding to restore the affected party monetarily. The court may order the Tortfeasor to do something or refrain from something in the future.
Types of Tort
There are three types of torts:
1. Intentional
This is an act intentionally committed by the tortfeasor against the plaintiff. Intentional torts include false imprisonment, trespassing, assault, battery, invasion of privacy, conversion or fraud. However, the court is the whole and sole in deciding whether the act was willfully committed or not.
2. Negligence
This type of tort occurs when the tortfeasor demonstrates a failure to show ordinary prudence, and as a result of it, an injury occurs. A car accident is a fine example of negligence.
Five essentials of negligence include:
- The defendant was supposed to show reasonable care
- Defendant failed to show proper care
- Plaintiff suffered an injury
- Injury caused damages
- The injury occurred because of the actions or inactions of the defendant.
3. Strict liability
Strict liability is similar to negligence, except for the fact that the defendant is liable to compensate the plaintiff even when the act was not negligent. If a person takes care of his dog prudently, yet it bites someone, he will be liable to compensate the injured party.