What is Tort Law?
Personal injury cases come under an area of law known as tort law; but what is tort law exactly, and how does it differ from other areas of law?
The word tort itself derives from the French word of the same spelling meaning “mischief, injury, wrong or calamity.” In common law jurisdictions, the term is used to indicate a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty, as opposed to a contractual duty, owed to another. The term may be defined as a personal injury; or as "a civil action other than a breach of contract." This is differentiated from a crime, wherein there is a breach of duty owed to society in general. Many acts are both torts and crimes together. The difference comes in the prosecution of such acts: the state is responsible for the prosecution of the crime; whereas the injured party may bring a lawsuit for tort. Tort is also differentiated from equity, wherein the complaint is of the violation of some right.
A person suffering injury is entitled to payment of damages by the person or persons responsible for those injuries, normally in the form of monetary compensation. Tort law is concerned with the definition of what is a legal injury and, consequently, whether an individual may be held liable for an injury they may have caused. Legal injuries are not merely confined to physical injuries – they include emotional, financial and reputational injures as well as violations of privacy, property or constitutional rights. As a result, tort law covers such varied incidents as car accidents, false imprisonment, slander, libel, copyright infringement, environmental pollution, product liability, medical negligence and others.
Most prominent amongst tort law cases are those of negligence, wherein, as defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, there has been “a failure to exercise the care a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances.” Negligence cases are those where harm has been caused by carelessness, not intentionally caused harm. If the injured party can prove negligence on the part of the person believed to have been the cause of the injury – their failure to take reasonable care to avoid the injury of others – tort law will allow the payment of compensation.
Tort law also recognises intentional torts, wherein the harm has been intentionally caused to another. Such torts include nuisance, trespass, false imprisonment, slander or libel.
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