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A Lawyer Will Answer in Minutes

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A Lawyer Will Answer in Minutes! Questions Answered Every 9 Seconds.
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A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief
for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or
suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is
responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or
tortfeasor.
Three elements must be established in every tort action. First, the plaintiff must establish that the
defendant was under a legal duty to act in a particular fashion. Second, the plaintiff must demonstrate
that the defendant breached this duty by failing to conform his or her behavior accordingly. Third, the
plaintiff must prove that he suffered injury or loss as a direct result of the defendant's breach.
The law of torts is derived from a combination of common-law principles and legislative enactments.
Unlike actions for breach of contract, tort actions are not dependent upon an agreement between the
parties to a lawsuit. Unlike criminal prosecutions, which are brought by the government, tort actions are
brought by private citizens. Remedies for tortious acts include money damages and injunctions (court
orders compelling or forbidding particular conduct). Tortfeasors are subject to neither fine nor
incarceration in civil court.
The word tort comes from the Latin term torquere, which means "twisted or wrong." The English Common
Lawrecognized no separate legal action in tort. Instead, the British legal system afforded litigants two
central avenues of redress: Trespass for direct injuries, and actions "on the case" for indirect injuries.
Gradually, the common law recognized other civil actions, including Defamation, LIBEL, and slander. Most
of the American colonies adopted the English common law in the eighteenth century. During the
nineteenth century, the first U.S. legal treatises were published in which a portion of the common law was
synthesized under the heading of torts.
Over the last century, tort law has touched on nearly every aspect of life in the United States. In economic
affairs, tort law provides remedies for businesses that are harmed by the unfair and deceptive trade
practices of a competitor. In the workplace, tort law protects employees from the intentional or negligent
infliction of emotional distress. Tort law also helps regulate the environment, providing remedies against
both individuals and businesses that pollute the air, land, and water to such an extent that it amounts to
a Nuisance.
Sometimes tort law governs life's most intimate relations, as when individuals are held liable for knowingly
transmitting communicable diseases to their sexual partners. When a loved one is killed by a tortious act,
surviving family members may bring a Wrongful Death action to recover pecuniary loss. Tort law also
governs a wide array of behavior in less intimate settings, including the operation of motor vehicles on
public roadways.
The law of torts serves four objectives. First, it seeks to compensate victims for injuries suffered by the
culpable action or inaction of others. Second, it seeks to shift the cost of such injuries to the person or
persons who are legally responsible for inflicting them. Third, it seeks to discourage injurious, careless,
and risky behavior in the future. Fourth, it seeks to vindicate legal rights and interests that have been
compromised, diminished, or emasculated. In theory these objectives are served when tort liability is
imposed on tortfeasors for intentional wrongdoing, Negligence, and ultrahazardous activities.

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A Lawyer Will Answer in Minutes! Questions Answered Every 9 Seconds. Law.JustAnswer.com A body of rights, obligations, and remedies that is applied by courts in civil proceedings to provide relief for persons who have suffered harm from the wrongful acts of others. The person who sustains injury or suffers pecuniary damage as the result of tortious conduct is known as the plaintiff, and the person who is responsible for inflicting the injury and incurs liability for the damage is known as the defendant or tortfeasor. Three elements must be established in every tort action. First, the plaint ...
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