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 - see Products Liability).
This chapter addresses the four intentional torts, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, that involve injury to persons—what some call the “dignitary” torts.
Classification of Torts. As we have already seen, there are three basic categories of torts: intentional torts, negligent torts, and strict liability torts.
This course focuses on personal injury law, as it has developed within the Anglo-American legal tradition. In particular, the concept of negligence and the refinements of negligence law will be extensively considered.
There are also separate areas of tort law including nuisance, defamation, invasion of privacy, and a category of economic torts.
The Four Elements of a Tort The accused had a duty, in most personal injury cases, to act in a way that did not cause you to become injured. The accused committed a breach of that duty. An injury occurred to you. The breach of duty was the proximate cause of your injury.
Under tort law, seven intentional torts exist. Four of them are personal: assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. The other three are trespass to chattels, trespass to property, and conversion.
There are two elements to establishing causation in respect of tort claims, with the claimant required to demonstrate that: • the defendant's breach in fact resulted in the damage complained of (factual causation) and. • this damage should, as a matter of law, be recoverable from the defendant (legal causation)
Intentional infliction of emotional distress involves a claim where the defendant's extreme or outrageous conduct caused the plaintiff emotional harm. These types of cases can be difficult to prove in court since emotional distress tends to be subjective.
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 - see Products Liability).