Torts is a Funny Word Even to Injury Attorneys

The word tort is a funny word even to injury attorneys.  It really is!  Before I went to law school, one of my friends asked me what a “tort” was and I told him that I thought it was a kind of dessert!  Actually, torts are generally used to describe actions or inactions on the part of either people or juridical entities which cause harm to other people.  A tort makes one person or entity liable to another person or entity in “civil” court.  Very generally, “civil” court is the court where the winner gets money or some other desired outcome, and the loser pays money or provides for the desired outcome.  It is important to distinguish this from “criminal” courts, where the defendant goes to jail when he loses and gets set free when he wins (more or less.)

There are many different types of torts, and different states have different frameworks for establish what is and what is not actionable by injury attorneys.  This article is not meant to be all inclusive of everyone imaginable or actionable in the United States of America (or elsewhere); it is only designed to be a general guidepost for the types of tort claims which are arguably possible to bring today by injury attorneys.

One group of torts which is kind of separate in their own little world is “intentional torts.”  Generally these torts require that the person who has committed them “intended” to commit them.  One common example of an intentional tort is battery.  In a traditional legal common law sense, battery is the intentional touching of another person, and when the touching is “offensive.”  Notice that the touching has to be intentional. 

So, let’s use two different examples.  Let’s say that Bobby is on a subway with Jack.  Let’s say that the subway lurches to one side, and Bobby accidently spills his coffee on Jack.  That’s one example, now here’s another.  Let’s say that Bobby and Jack or on a subway, and Bobby decides that because he does not like Jack, he is going to intentionally spill his coffee all over Jack.

If you look at the two examples closely, you will notice one glaring difference between them.  In the first example, the reason coffee ended up on Jack is because it was an accident.  In the second example, the reason that coffee ended up on Jack was because it was intended: it was an intentional act on the part of Bobby. 

Some people’s first reaction may be to think that what Bobby did in the second example was actually a crime.  It very well could have been.  Battery is in many jurisdictions a criminal act as well.  But it is also normally a tort that injury attorneys would also prosecute.  There are more than a few instances of actions that can be both crimes as well.  In cases such as these, the perpetrator may be looking at jail time for the criminal action, and then footing the bill for any damage which they have caused in the civil “cousin” of the criminal action.

This article is not meant to be anything other than information on the law.  For legal advice, please speak with an attorney.  Will Beaumont.  New Orleans.