Knowing Whether You Can Bring an Intentional Tort Case Against Someone

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Most individuals, if they do not work in the legal profession, don’t know what you mean if you use the word “tort.” It’s a legal term, and one that means a wrongful act. Usually, if an individual says someone else caused them harm or loss, that means the plaintiff can sue the guilty party under tort law.

This indicates that the person who harmed another party has committed a tortious act. Tort law and criminal law mean different things in a courtroom. With tort law, we’re talking about civil actions rather than criminal ones.

Every state has slightly different tort law policies. For instance, you can bring intentional tort cases in Florida for four years, but less in some other states. It makes a difference whether someone intentionally harmed another individual or not. It might not seem like a very important distinction, but it can actually make a huge difference in tort cases.

In this article, we’ll talk about how you can find out whether you can bring an intentional tort case against someone.

What Does “Intentional Tort” Mean?

In the legal system, it matters whether someone harmed you through an intentional tort violation or an unintentional one. For instance, let’s say you and your neighbor argued about him playing his music too loud. He threw a beer bottle over the fence at you, and it struck you in the head.

Now, you can sue him. You’ll likely go after him not just for the cost of your medical bills but also lost wages if you miss work. Maybe you will also add on some money if you allege that he caused you pain and suffering as well.

However, even if a jury agrees that your neighbor harmed you, they might give you more money through a verdict in your favor if you can establish that your neighbor tried to hit you. Conversely, they may grant you less money if they feel that while your neighbor did harm you, they didn’t do so intentionally.

As you might imagine, these cases can become a mess if you can’t easily prove someone’s intent. If your neighbor had you in his clear line of sight and threw the beer bottle at your head, you can probably prove an intentional tort, meaning he deliberately tried to harm you. If he simply tossed the beer bottle over the fence without seeing you because you irritated him, and he happened to hit you with it, that’s probably unintentional tort.

With unintentional tort, you’ll probably have less money coming your way. The neighbor in this example might also avoid more serious criminal charges. However, since tort law and criminal law differ, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s up to the police and the court system to bring criminal charges against your neighbor.
Now, let’s talk about how you might know whether you can bring an intentional tort case against someone.

You Can Ask a Lawyer

If you ask a lawyer who deals with these kinds of cases, that’s probably the most obvious way you can tell whether you might bring an intentional tort case against someone. You will need to speak to an attorney who does personal injury law.

Talking to a tax lawyer about tort law likely won’t do you much good. The law has many different facets. Talking to the wrong kind of lawyer resembles speaking to a pediatrician about a sore back. You need to find the proper type of specialist.

You can usually see on a lawyer’s website whether they practice tort law. Personal injury law is a kind of tort law, so if you see that an attorney handles personal injury cases, you can probably feel confident they can help you in this area.

Usually, you can have a consultation with a personal injury lawyer and describe what happened. They can probably tell you based on the case’s particular details whether you have a potential tort law case on your hands. If you do, and you feel this lawyer has the necessary credentials, you might hire them. You should ask them whether they’ve handled any cases like yours before.

You Can Do Some Research on Your Own

You can also do some research on your own if you’re trying to figure out whether something that a person or entity did to you constitutes a tort law case. However, since consulting a lawyer probably won’t cost you anything, this approach doesn’t make much sense.

Also, keep in mind that anything that you read in a book or on a website about tort law might not allow for your particular case’s subtle nuances. These can make a huge difference. What might seem like a relatively minor detail about what happened might have more of a impact than you can imagine. That’s why consulting with a lawyer makes the most sense with tort claims, especially when trying to figure out something like the guilty party’s intentionality.

You Must Use Credible Proof to Establish an Intentional Tort Injury

You should also know that if you feel someone harmed you, and you’re going to bring a personal injury case against them, maybe that’s an unintentional tort case, or perhaps it’s an intentional one. Often, if it’s your word against that of the defendant, you’ll have a hard time establishing that they had intent when they harmed you.

Much like many other aspects of personal injury cases, the more proof you have that the events occurred like you said, the more likely you will win the lawsuit or force a settlement offer. With abundant evidence that supports an intentional tort violation, you can probably collect much more than if you win or force a settlement in an unintentional tort law case.

In any event, your legal journey after a person or entity harmed you probably begins when you consult a lawyer. They can tell you whether you’re looking at an intentional or unintentional tort situation.