Even people who have never experienced a personal injury know what it is since the term is clearly self-explanatory. Tort law is something else entirely. Most people are unfamiliar with it but it is something that they should know about because it can affect their lives as much as a personal injury can.
Even though it might sound like obscure legalese, tort is a fairly simple concept to wrap your head around. But if you need more help understanding it and you live in Florida, then you should contact your Abercrombie personal injury lawyer for more information. However, if you want to know the basics, then keep reading.
What is Tort Law?
Legally speaking, there are two types of wrongs in society: criminal wrongs and civil wrongs. We are all familiar with criminal wrongs since they involve acts like theft or assault. They are dealt with by the state and perpetrators are usually punished with prison time. A civil wrong is when one party causes harm or injury to another party. When a civil wrong is committed against someone else, the injured party is entitled to receive damages via a civil suit, aka a civil action. There are many types of civil actions that range from family law, estate law , intellectual property claims, and more. A tort is a civil wrong that arises from negligence or an intentional act. That means tort law is a civil action that covers personal injury claims.
The purpose of tort law is to help those who have suffered a personal injury receive compensation that can help them. It also holds the party that caused the injury liable and deters other people from committing harmful acts that might lead to a personal injury. Torts are more about compensating the individual than about punishing the wrongdoer. Torts fall into the following three categories:
Intentional Torts – These are when someone purposefully causes injury or harm to another. This includes acts like assault and battery, but it can also include acts of defamation like slander or libel.
Negligent Torts – This happens when the lack of reasonable care of one party results in the injury of another. An example is if someone who is texting while driving runs into a pedestrian who was following the laws of the road.
Strict Liability Torts – This is when a party is held responsible for selling a defective product that causes harm or injury to the person who uses it.
What is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a violation of tort law, which means that it falls under the general umbrella of tort law, but is its own distinct entity. Specifically, a personal injury is when someone suffers an injury due to an accident that was caused by another party. Examples of personal injuries include the following:
- Slip and Fall Accidents
- Vehicular Accidents
- Medical Malpractice
- Dog Bites
In short, personal injury law is a subset of tort laws. That means all personal injury cases are also tort cases, but not all tort cases are personal injury cases.
Hire A Good Attorney Regardless Of The Case You Have
Tort and personal injury cases have enough overlap that the layman would be confused by the differences between the two. However, if you hire an attorney, then you don’t have to worry about figuring out which one is which.They will figure out the category to which your case applies and come up with a strategy that gives you the best chance of getting the compensation that you need. So, if you have suffered an injury, don’t worry about what kind of case you have, just call an attorney. They will figure things out and they will fight for you.