TORT LAW

Tort Law

Tort Law

Introduction

Torts are civil wrongs in violation of a protected interest or right (and its related duty), other than a breach of contract. Intentional torts, negligence torts, and strict liability torts make up the three primary classifications of torts. Assault and battery, automobile accidents, and faulty consumer products are a few of the many sources of torts. Torts usually involve the violation of an individual's right to bodily security or property interests, the legal guarantee to engage in (or refrain from) certain conduct, or the right to receive (or be protected from) specific treatment from another. The infringement of a said noncontractual right and violation of its related duty is a civil wrong or legal tort (derived from the same French word, which means “to twist”). The same action may be both a civil tort and a crime (e.g., an assault). The courts and law remedy civil torts with monetary damages and injunctions.

Discussion

Social and Ethical Implications

The most basic social and economic relations require a respect for one's bodily safety and for one's property interest. Tort law has traditionally provided a moral minimum of behavioral guidelines toward a variety of personal and property rights. The enforcement of torts has historically protected said rights, deterred infringement of related and future interests, and compensated for violations thereof. Besides the obvious rights and utilitarian foundation for the protection of such tort interests, the structure of tort law advances both compensatory and distributive justice.

Tort protection of property and bodily rights advances the economic efficiency on which society depends for its overall development. Tort law tries to reduce the costs associated with the injuries connected with the violation of said rights and with the expense inevitable in preventing them. This goal is achieved partially by a tort system designed to award damages in a manner and through an amount that promotes precautionary protection of important personal rights and property interests. Tort law awards monetary damages to individuals whose rights have been violated by the intentional destruction of their property, the accidental injury to their physical person, or their sickness caused by a defective product. Greater security in said rights is a natural outgrowth of the tort system's fair process and substantial sums afforded to the injured and of the compensatory and punitive damages inflicted on both present and future perpetrators. The freer flow of information and increase in safety are said to further testify to these benefits. Plus, the opportunity to have one's day in court protects the notion of justice inherent in the legal system and the nation for which it was founded.

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts derive their name and classification from the fact that the perpetrator (or tortfeasor) intended to commit the wrongful act or intended to bring about the wrongful consequences (or knew with substantial certainty that such consequences would occur). Intentional torts are committed against either a person or a person's property. Intentional torts against a person's right to bodily security consist of assault (creating apprehension of immediate harmful ...