TORT LAW

A tort occurs when someone commits a wrong against another person. Tort law allows individuals who have had a wrong committed against them to claim damages against the person who has committed the wrong. It encompasses a vast amount of different types of legal issues.

Tort a civil law that aims to return individuals back in the position they were in before the wrong was committed against them to ensure they do not suffer any unnecessary loss.

Duty of Care

Duty of Care is one of the most important areas of tort law within the compulsory Law Degree Module. This is the mainstay of any negligence claim. A tort is committed if someone who has a legal duty towards someone else breaches that duty and, due to this, causes some form of harm/injury. There is a three-stage test known as the Caparo test to establish duty of care:

1. That the harm was reasonably foreseeable
2. That there was a relationship of proximity between the parties (normal examples include doctor/patient, solicitor/client, employer/employee)
3. That it is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care.

Negligence

Negligence occurs when someone who has duty of care fails to provide this duty of care to someone. In order to establish a case of negligence, there are certain things you have to prove:

• The defendant had a duty of care
• That duty was breached
• That breach caused damage or harm

Personal Injury

This type of law involves civil cases being brought in order to obtain compensation for injuries sustained. Personal injuries can involve injuries suffered in accidents whether at home, in public or in the workplace, and injuries inflicted through negligence.

Struggling to choose which of the types of law you want to specialise in? Take our two-minute quiz!

Strict Liability

Strict liability in tort law is the imposition of liability on a party without the requirement to find intent or negligence. In other words, the individual claiming damages only needs to prove that the tort occurred, and the defendant was responsible.

Strict liability torts exists for behavior which is inherently dangerous. Examples of this include the ownership of wild animals or the management of nuclear power plants.

Nuisance

There are two areas of nuisance relating to tort law: private and public. Private nuisance consists of situations where actions by the defendant causes unreasonable interference with a private individual’s land or enjoyment of their land.

Public nuisance is along the same lines except the action of the defendant interferes with a group rather than just an individual.

Damages

Damages in tort are generally awarded to restore the plaintiff to the position they were in had the tort not occurred and compensate them for the loss suffered. There are a number of different ways to classify damages in tort law. For example:

General damages: awarded for pain, suffering and emotional distress

Aggravated damages: awarded for mental distress if the court decides that the tort was malicious

Exemplary/punitive damages: awarded if the damage caused is deemed so serious by the court that an example needs to be made of the defendant

Other areas of tort law that may be covered in a law module or you may find during work in the field include defamation, trespass including trespass to the person and privacy law.

It is important to note that in many cases, criminal law and tort law can overlap as there may be an ascertainable criminal wrong alongside a civil wrong.

One example of this is in the case of sexual violence which can encompass a trespass against the person as well as a crime.

Mr. Chiraneev Chauhan has strived to bring in the best practices of the Law of Tort into INDIALAW and continues to do so today. He is well acquainted with the legal landscape of Tort Law as well. He has successfully handled several civil and Tort Cases litigations in the various courts of the country besides various non-litigation assignments.