Insurance: Tort

Under common law, a tort refers to a wrong act committed to someone as a violation of civil duties that do not arise from statutes or contracts. It is distinguished from wrongdoings executed contravening the duty due to the general society, such as crimes, although numerous acts are considered both crimes and torts. The only difference is that actions against crimes are the state’s responsibility. Anybody who becomes a victim of tort can file a civil lawsuit to the person causing the mischief, or the tortfeasor. In civil law, torts are commonly known as delicts.

“Damages” is the legal term for monetary compensation that is awarded to the person suffering an injury out of torts. It is paid by the person liable or responsible for such injuries. Injuries can either be body or property injuries. Torts are governed by tort law, which gives out the definition for legal injury, and the factors that could make a person liable for such legal injuries.

Aside from physical injuries, legal injuries also include reputational, economic, and emotional injuries, in addition to violations of property, constitutional rights, and privacy. Defamation, vehicle accidents, copyright infringement, toxic torts or environmental pollution, false imprisonment, and product liability, are few examples of tort cases.

Negligence is the most prominent liability in torts. The phrase can be synonymous to recklessness or carelessness. The person acting negligently can be described as someone who fell out of his duty to act with due care, or, reasonable care. Someone who files a case to injuries suffered as a result of another person’s negligence must prove in the civil courts that the latter behaved without reasonable care. Once proven, the person at fault must provide compensation to the injured person, as specified in tort law. Negligence is classified as an unintentional kind of tort. An example of this is a Tax professional who failed in filing tax returns for his/her client according to acceptable tax laws.

Intentional torts, on the other hand, represent omissions or deliberate acts. These include trespass, assault, libel, false imprisonment, battery, and conversion.

In insurance, the coverage to be employed against tort cases is the tort liability insurance. This provides solutions to persons found at fault with tort, in most cases, due to negligence. Generally, education professionals acquire tort liability insurance before venturing in the field. In this case, the insurance carrier of the teachers will be the one to cover damages in case they are confirmed culpable of torts. In the case of autos, the insurance company of a driver who caused an accident will be the one to pay the victim’s medical expenses and other damages.

Another insurance pertaining to torts is the tort auto insurance system, which tolerates victims of vehicle collision to compel the person causing the accident to pay for damages, losses, and medical bills.

However, most states have their own tort system, permitting any tort victim to file legal proceedings. Once the person responsible is proven guilty, then it is here that liability insurance coverage comes out to protect the person insured against further harm.