PERSONAL INJURY - PERSONAL INJURY LAW

Torts & Personal Injury Law Overview

Tort law or personal injury law is created by each state through the judges (common law) and legislatures(statutory law). Torts are civil actions recognized by law as cause for a personal injury lawsuit. These actions result in injury or harm providing the basis for a claim by the injured party. The primary focus of tort law is to provide relief for the damages incurred and deter others from committing the same harms. Injured persons may sue for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the conduct or for monetary damages. Injured parties may recover the following damages, and they include both present and future expected losses.

» Lost wages
» Pain and suffering
» Medical expenses
» Property damage
» Punitive damages in extraordinary cases

Specific types of torts include:

» Negligence
» Products Liability
» Emotional Distress
» Trespass
» Assault
» Battery

Torts fall into three general categories:

» Intentional Torts - depends what defendant knows or should have known would happen by way of their actions or inactions.

» Negligent Torts - depend on whether or not the defendant's actions are unreasonably unsafe.

» Strict Liability Torts - depend on a particular action causing damage, rather than the degree of carefulness by the defendant.