You and the Tort Law: A Guide

Everyday, we’re always at the risk of falling victim to misfortune whether it is from using defective products or unknowingly falling off into a manhole, or sustaining vast injuries due to serious highway accidents. You may think that accidents that happen everywhere to other people are of nobody’s fault than theirs alone…But, once something happens to you, say you were bit by a dog whose owner was careless enough to let it wander off, you may cry out, indeed – “not my fault!”.

Injuries may range from trivial to critical, depending on how it was obtained physically, mentally or emotionally. If an individual or group has a liability for your accident, you can file for claims under the tort law. This area of the law is invaluable you need to have knowledge of it.

Torts are private and civil wrongs or injuries that may be remedied through a court of law by a lawsuit for damages/compensation. Once an individual or a group of individuals violate their duty to others created under general or statutory laws, a tort has been committed. Liability in the tort law is based upon “…the relation of persons with others; and these relations may arise generally, with large groups or classes of persons, or singly, with an individual…The common thread woven into all torts is the idea of unreasonable interference with the interest of others.” Prosser & Keeton, supra,p.5. Thus, the chief aim of action in tort is that an individual be compensated for the loss he has suffered within the scope of his legally recognized private interests, as the best method of relief.

Tort law is a branch of the civil law. This is one of the three main branches of civil law where the other branches are contract and property law. In tort cases, the plaintiff is the victim of an alleged wrong and the unsuccessful defendant is directed by the court to pay damages to the plaintiff. The so-called injunctive relief for the defendant is when he is directed to discontinue from a wrongful activity.

Torts have three general categories. Intentional torts are wrongs which the defendant knew or should have known would happen through their actions or inactions (e.g. intentionally hurting a person). Negligent torts happen when the defendant’s actions were unreasonably unsafe (e.g. causing accident by failing to obey traffic rules). Strict liability torts are wrongs that do not depend on the degree of carefulness by the defendant but established when a particular action causes damage (e.g. liability for selling expired products).

Misfortune may happen unexpectedly to you or anyone in your family and when it does, a you, as a victim may incur costs. You can shift these costs to others who you believed has strict liability in causing it. The principles of the tort law help you in getting compensation for damages suffered not by your own fault. Contact an attorney practising this particular area of the law for clarifications and tips in filing for claims.

Lala B. is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a non-government organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

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