What is a tort?
Since most television shows and movies have to make the legal system look exciting, the shows we see depict the law as mysterious because the hero of the story is always investigating some heinous crime and looking for a killer of that crime. Most people probably never heard of the word Tort, and if they do hear it, they probably think its some kind of pastry. Tort law is a branch of civil law that is concerned with civil wrongs, but not contract actions. Contracts are when both parties agree on the same thing. Tort law imposes the duty to act with caution when it is possible to injure another or cause injury to another’s property. This law requires all people to act reasonably when conducting our lives. Torts are intentional, negligent, or strict liability. The most common tort done today is accidental, usually caused by the negligent use of an automobile. When a person drives, he or she is responsible to operate the vehicle in a safe manor.
A tort is a civil wrong recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. Torts fall into three general categories: intentional torts (e.g., intentionally hitting a person); negligent torts (e.g., causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules); and strict liability torts (e.g., liability for making and selling defective products). These wrongs result in an injury or harm constituting the basis for a claim by the injured party (tort litigation).
