LAW
Chapter 18: Torts
A Civil Wrong
What is a civil wrong?

In criminal law, a wrong is called a
crime

1. The wrongdoer is prosecuted and
punished by the state, or federal
government
In civil law, a wrong is called a tort
1. The wrongdoer is sued in civil court
through a civil action or lawsuit
Civil Wrong continued:
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The rules that govern civil wrongs are
called tort law
Our Tort laws are derived from English
Common Law
Who are the parties to a civil
action?
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The harmed individual becomes the
plaintiff in a lawsuit
The wrongdoer becomes the defendant
in a lawsuit
The plaintiff seeks to win a judgment
against the defendant
If the plaintiff is successful, the defendant
will be forced to compensate the plaintiff
for injuries
What types of injuries fall under tort
law?
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These injuries involve pain and suffering
which can be:
1. Physical
2. Emotional, or
3. Damage to one’s good character
A judgment against the defendant is
usually monetary and is called “paying
money damages”
When do torts occur?
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Torts occur whenever a person causes
injury to:
1. Another person
2. Another’s property, and/or
3. Another’s reputation
Tort law provides the injured party with a
remedy
1. A remedy is something to make up for
what is lost
Where does the idea of liability
come from?
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Tort law establishes standards of care
that society expects from people
These laws require all of us to act with
reasonable care toward people and their
property
A failure to exercise reasonable care can
result in legal liability
How does tort law work?

Tort law deals with two (2) basic
questions:
1. Who is responsible (or liable) for the
harms caused by human activities?
2. How much should the responsible
party have to pay?
What kinds of human activity can
be sources of harm?

Almost any activity can be a source of
liability, such as:
1. Driving a car
2. Operating a business
3. Speaking
4. Writing
5. Using property
What are damages?

Whenever a person is physically or
emotionally injured, someone will bear the
cost of the harm
1. Broken bones will create medical bills
that must be paid
- A hospitalized person will miss work
and may lose earnings
- Damaged property will cost money to
repair
Damages continued:
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Emotional suffering may also be a cost of
an injury
1. The emotional suffering may even be
to a 3rd party
- No quality of life in a marriage
What is legal responsibility?
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Whenever a person purposely or
carelessly causes injury to another, the
wrongdoer will bear the cost of the harm
Legal responsibility is different from moral
responsibility
A person may be morally at fault, but not
civilly liable, or
A person may be civilly liable and not
morally at fault
What is a settlement?
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Tort law provides a legal process for
injured persons to recover damages
The parties can meet and reach a
settlement
Approximately 90% of tort cases are
settled without a trial
However, if an agreement can’t be
reached, the elected party can sue in
court
What is an award?

When the plaintiff wins a judgment
against the defendant in a civil action, the
end result is usually a payment for
damages

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This payment is called an award
However, the award is not always about
money
Are there different types of awards
for damages?

There are several types of awards:
1. Compensatory Damages – These
include medical and hospital bills, and
pain and suffering
2. Punitive Damages – Money awarded
to the plaintiff to punish the defendant
for malicious, willful, or outrageous
acts, and serve as a warning to others
not to engage in such conduct
Awards continued:
3. Nominal Damages – A small amount
of money such as $1.00. They are
symbolic awards of money to recognize
that the defendant was wrong even
though injury was minimal
4. Injunction – A court order requiring a
person to do, or refrain from doing a
particular act
Awards continued:
5. Cease and Desist Order – A court
order to stop some illegal or deceptive
activity
Are there different types of torts?

Tort liability exists for three major
categories of conduct:
1. Intentional Wrongs – when a person
acts with the intent to injure a person
and/or his/her property
2. Negligence – when a person fails to
use reasonable care and an injury
occurs to a person and/or his/her
property (an unintentional tort)
Types of tort liability continued:
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3. Strict Liability – Applies to activities
that are so dangerous that they pose a
serious risk of harm, even with the
utmost care
Three groups of people face strict liability
1. Owners of dangerous animals
2. People who engage in highly
dangerous activities (demolition
experts)
Types of tort liability continued:
3. Manufacturers and sellers of
defective consumer products
What is negligence?

Negligence is a very broad term that
deals with many kinds of wrongful
conduct and is defined as:
1. The failure to exercise a “reasonable
amount of care”
2. In either doing, or failing to do
3. What a “reasonably prudent person”
would do, or not do “under like
circumstances”
4. Resulting in harm or injury to another
Negligence continued:
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Different types of wrongful conduct do not
have individual names, but each have the
following in common:
1. In order for the plaintiff to win a
negligence action against a defendant,
four (4) elements must be proven by a
preponderance of evidence
What are the four (4) elements?
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Duty – That the defendant owed a duty
of care to the plaintiff. Everyone has a
duty toward everyone else in society. This
is a duty to act reasonably and is referred
to as the “reasonable person standard”
Breach of Duty – That the defendant
violated or breached that duty by their
conduct
Elements continued:
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Causation – That the defendant’s
conduct caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
Causation includes “cause in fact” and
“proximate cause”
1. If the harm would not have occurred
without the wrongful act, the act is the
cause in fact
2. Proximate cause must show that
there is a close connection between
the wrongful act and the harm caused
Elements continued:
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Damages – That the plaintiff suffered
actual damages
Are there defenses to negligence
claims?

Even thought the elements of negligence
can be proven, the defendant can raise a
valid legal defense:
1. Contributory Negligence – When
the plaintiff’s own negligence
contributed to the harm suffered
- The plaintiff was warned that he/she
should not dive into the above
ground pool because it is shallow
Defenses continued:
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In situations where both parties were at
fault, neither party can recover damages
This defense has been eliminated in most
states due to it’s unfairness
1. Comparative Negligence – This
means that the loss will be divided
according to the degree to which each
person is at fault
Defenses continued:
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- One person causes a two vehicle
accident. The second person suffers
injuries because he/she was not
wearing their seat belt.
In this case, the damages would be
reduced
For example if the award were for $10k
and driver #2 was found to be 10% at
fault, the award would be reduced by $1k
Defenses continued:
3. Assumption of Risk – This is when a
person voluntarily encounters a known
danger and decides to accept the risk
of that danger
- A “swim at your own risk” sign is
displayed at the beach for the hours
between 6:00pm and 9:00am