Torts come in three main flavors: intentional, negligence, and strict liability. Each type has its own unique ingredients that make it special. Understanding these categories helps us figure out who's responsible when someone gets hurt.

Intentional torts are like throwing a punch on purpose. Negligence is more like accidentally tripping someone. Strict liability? That's when you're on the hook no matter how careful you were. Knowing the difference is key to navigating the world of torts.

Categories of Torts

Categories of torts

• Intentional torts
  • Deliberate actions that cause harm or injury to another person
  • Require proof of intent to commit the tortious act (battery, assault)
• Negligence
  • Occurs when a person fails to exercise reasonable care resulting in harm or injury to another
  • Requires proof of a duty of care, breach of that duty, causation, and damages (medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents)
• Strict liability
  • Imposes liability without the need to prove fault or negligence
  • Applies in specific situations such as product liability or abnormally dangerous activities (defective products, keeping dangerous animals)

Characteristics of tort categories

• Intentional torts
  • Key elements: intent, causation, and damages
  • Plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted with the intent to cause harm or with substantial certainty that harm would occur
  • Focus on the deliberate nature of the defendant's actions
• Negligence
  • Key elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages
  • Plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty, and that the breach caused the plaintiff's damages
  • Emphasizes the failure to exercise reasonable care in one's actions
• Strict liability
  • Key characteristic: liability imposed without proof of fault or negligence
  • Plaintiff must prove that the defendant engaged in an activity or produced a product that caused harm, regardless of the level of care exercised
  • Focuses on the inherent danger of certain activities or products

Examples within tort categories

• Intentional torts
  • Battery: intentional and harmful or offensive contact with another person (punching someone)
  • Assault: intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact (threatening to hit someone)
  • False imprisonment: intentional confinement or restraint of another person without legal justification (locking someone in a room)
  • Intentional infliction of emotional distress: extreme or outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress (constantly harassing someone)
• Negligence
  • Medical malpractice: a healthcare professional's failure to provide the standard of care, resulting in injury to a patient (surgeon leaving a sponge inside a patient during surgery)
  • Premises liability: a property owner's failure to maintain safe conditions, leading to injury of a visitor or tenant (failing to repair a broken handrail)
  • Motor vehicle accidents: a driver's failure to exercise reasonable care, causing a collision and resulting injuries (texting while driving)
• Strict liability
  • Product liability: a manufacturer or seller is liable for injuries caused by a defective product, regardless of fault (a defective car brake system causing an accident)
  • Abnormally dangerous activities: engaging in inherently dangerous activities, such as using explosives or keeping dangerous animals, results in liability for any harm caused (a pet tiger escaping and attacking someone)

Rationale for tort classification

• Intentional torts
  • Rationale: to deter and punish intentional wrongdoing and protect individuals from deliberate harm
  • Reflects society's disapproval of intentional misconduct and the importance of personal autonomy and security
  • Allows for higher damages to be awarded to the plaintiff as a means of punishment and deterrence
• Negligence
  • Rationale: to encourage individuals to exercise reasonable care in their actions and to compensate victims of carelessness
  • Balances the need for accountability with the recognition that accidents may occur even when some care is taken
  • Promotes a standard of behavior that minimizes the risk of harm to others
• Strict liability
  • Rationale: to assign responsibility for harm caused by inherently dangerous activities or products, regardless of fault
  • Reflects the policy decision that certain activities or products carry such significant risks that those who engage in or produce them should bear the costs of any resulting harm
  • Encourages those engaged in high-risk activities or producing potentially dangerous products to take extra precautions to prevent harm