Introduction to tort law

• Definition:

  • A civil wrong that compensates a person who has suffered a loss, been injured or whose property is damaged due to someone else's actions.
  • The world 'tort' comes from French word 'wrong'.
  • So person has been 'wronged' and suffered loss, injury or property damage as a result.
• Main aim of Tort Law is to provide a remedy to the Claimant.

  • this is usually compensation.
  • it can also include an injunction - this forces the Defendant to stop doing a certain action.
• However Tort Law also has a number of additional side-line aims that the courts seek to uphold:

  • achieving and upholding justice
  • Achieving and upholding morality
  • Deterrence - individual, general and corporate.
  • Distributing loss
  • Achieving policy aims (such as consumer or environmental protection)
  • Upholding civil liberties and human rights
  • Filling gaps or shortcomings in criminal or contract law
• Parties in a Tort Law Case:

  • Claimant
  • Defendant
  • Judge
• Claimant:

  • previously called the "Plaintiff"
  • has suffered the injury/loss
  • makes the claim against the D
  • must prove D is liable "on the balance of probabilities"
• Defendant:

  • is accused of being responsible for the injury/loss suffered by the Claimant
  • will be found Liable or Not Liable
  • usually pays compensation if found liable
  • may or may not actually be at fault
  • usually has insurance to cover compensation payments
• Judge:

  • sits alone (not on a panel)
  • listens to evidence and decides liability
  • if D is liable, the judge also sets the compensation/ injunction
  • can also decide whether the losing party must pay all the costs including legal fees of the other side (usually this does happen)
  • case management
• The claimant/ defendant can be either a "natural" person or a "legal" person.

  • "natural" = is an individual human being
  • "legal" = non-humans who are able to carry out legal functions like entering into contracts and buying/selling goods. In reality this therefore refers to companies.
  • both an individual and a business can sue and be sued in tort law.
• Aims of Tort Law:

  • there are 3 "protected interests" in Tort Law.
  • Means if Claimant has one of these "protected interests" taken away by the D, then they will have a case in Tort Law.
  • Your Person
  • Your Land and Property
  • Your Economic Loss
• Your Person:

  • Physical harm
  • Psychological harm
  • Reputational harm
  • Personal freedoms
• Your Land and Property:

  • Use and enjoyment
  • Direct interference
  • Indirect interference
• Your Economic Loss:

  • Money
  • Loss of business
• The issue of Fault in Tort Law:

  • Fault = whether the D personally did anything wrong.
  • Some torts such as Negligence and Occupier's Liability require the defendant themselves to be at fault
  • However with other torts D can be liable when they were not directly at fault = Strict Liability Torts
• Compensation Culture:

  • states that we are becoming more litigious (more likely to argue issues in a courtroom instead of resolve them ourselves)
• Compensation Culture (advantages):

  • provides justice
  • covered by insurance
  • overblown by media - not as big an issue as it may seem
  • encourages good health and safety practices/ deterrence
  • those seriously injury need compensation of future care requirements.
• Compensation Culture (negative):

  • rising costs of public liability insurance for businesses
  • encouragement of unnecessary claims but huge impact on defedants
  • Risk of "ambulance chasers" or manipulation of accidents (e.g. dashcam footage shows staged crash)