A tort is a civil wrong that causes a person to suffer harm and gives the injured party a right to sue for a remedy, usually money damages. The word comes from the Latin tortus, meaning twisted, and it covers a wide range of conduct, from a car crash caused by carelessness to a deliberate punch to a defective product. Tort law is state law, built largely from court decisions, and it is the foundation of most personal injury claims.
Tort, Crime, and Contract
A single act can create liability in more than one system. A drunk driver who injures someone may face criminal charges brought by the government and a tort claim brought by the victim. Tort law compensates the injured person, while criminal law punishes the offender. Contract law, by contrast, enforces agreements the parties made. The table below shows the differences.
| Tort | Crime | Contract | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who brings the case | Injured private party | Government | Party to the agreement |
| Standard of proof | Preponderance of the evidence | Beyond a reasonable doubt | Preponderance of the evidence |
| Main remedy | Money damages | Fine or imprisonment | Damages or specific performance |
| Source of duty | Law of civil wrongs | Criminal statutes | The parties' agreement |
The Three Main Categories
Torts are usually grouped into negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability. The category matters because it determines what the plaintiff must prove and what defenses are available.
Negligence
Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care. The plaintiff must prove four elements. First, duty: the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty of care. Second, breach: the defendant's conduct fell below the standard of care. Third, causation: the breach caused the harm, both in fact and proximately. Fourth, damages: the plaintiff suffered a legally recognized injury. A duty of care can arise from the general obligation to avoid unreasonable risk, from a relationship such as doctor and patient, or from a statute. The reasonable person standard asks what an ordinary, careful person would have done under the same circumstances.
Intentional Torts
An intentional tort requires the defendant to intend the act or the consequence, not necessarily to intend harm. Common examples include battery, which is harmful or offensive contact; assault, which is an act that creates a reasonable apprehension of imminent battery; false imprisonment, which is confinement without lawful authority; trespass to land; trespass to chattels and conversion, which involve interference with another's property; and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defamation, including libel and slander, is also an intentional tort in most states.
Strict Liability
Strict liability holds a defendant responsible without proof of carelessness or intent. It most often applies to defective products, to abnormally dangerous activities such as blasting or handling certain chemicals, and to harm caused by wild animals or by domestic animals with known dangerous propensities. In products liability, a plaintiff may proceed under strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty, and the available theories vary by state.
Common Examples of Torts
Tort claims show up in many settings. A driver who runs a red light and causes a collision may be liable in negligence. A store that fails to clean a spill may be liable when a customer slips. A manufacturer that sells a product with a dangerous defect may face strict liability. A neighbor who dumps debris on your land may commit trespass. A business that publicly publishes a false statement of fact about a competitor may commit trade libel. The label matters less than the elements, because the elements decide what must be proven and what can be defended.
Damages in Tort Cases
Compensatory damages are meant to make the plaintiff whole. They include special damages, which are measurable economic losses such as medical bills and lost wages, and general damages, which cover non-economic harm such as pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages may be awarded when the defendant's conduct is especially reckless or malicious, and the Supreme Court has placed constitutional limits on the ratio of punitive to compensatory awards. Many states cap damages in specific categories, such as medical malpractice, and the caps differ widely.
Defenses
- Comparative or contributory negligence. Most states use comparative fault, reducing the plaintiff's recovery by the plaintiff's share of fault. A few states still bar recovery if the plaintiff was negligent at all, and some bar recovery only above a threshold such as fifty percent.
- Assumption of risk. A plaintiff who knowingly and voluntarily accepted a known danger may be barred from recovery. This defense often appears in sports and recreational injury cases.
- Consent. A person who agreed to the contact or conduct generally cannot sue for it, which is why consent is central to medical treatment and contact sports.
- Privilege. Certain conduct is privileged, such as a reasonable use of force in self-defense or accurate reporting of official proceedings in a defamation case.
- Statute of limitations. Every state sets deadlines for filing, often two to three years for personal injury, with shorter periods for some claims and special rules for discovery of harm.
Who Can Be Sued
A tort defendant can be a person, a company, or a government entity. Suing a government raises additional hurdles, including sovereign immunity, notice requirements, and limits on damages. Claims against federal employees are governed in part by the Federal Tort Claims Act, found in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, and many states have comparable statutes.
Where to Find the Law
Tort law is primarily state common law, so the controlling rules come from state court decisions and state statutes. Federal sources such as the Legal Information Institute at law.cornell.edu provide helpful overviews of doctrine, but they are not a substitute for the law of the state where the injury occurred. Because elements, defenses, deadlines, and damage caps vary, the state's own statutes and cases control.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Tort claims depend on state law and on the facts of the injury, and a personal injury attorney can evaluate a specific claim.