Taking your case to court

Tort law is Civil law Civil Law deals with disputes between individuals or groups of individuals In a civil case, the injured party may sue the party who caused the damage In some situations an act can be both a tort and a crime Which may lead to two separate actions against the defendant

For Example…. Someone may be sued for driving while intoxicated and killing a pedestrian. Someone also may be charged with the crime of negligent homicide or manslaughter for his actions. This criminal case will be brought by the state , which may prove that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Which is called, the standard of proof.

The victims family may also sue the defendant in a civil court. In this case the victims family will attempt to recover damages for the wrongful death. The civil court will use the standard of proof which requires that more than 50% of the weight of the evidence be in favor of the winning party. In most cases the civil standard is much easier to meet than the criminal standard. Those who are found liable in a civil action are less severe than the penalties found guilty of a crime.

A person does not go to jail for committing a tort, instead the person pays damages to those injured.

Who Can Be Sued?

Almost anyone can be sued, including: individuals, groups of individuals, organizations, businesses, and units of government. Sometimes a plaintiff will try to sue a defendant who has enough money to pay for the damages, this is called “deep pockets”.

For example… Suppose you slip on a wet rag that a janitor left on the floor of a local restaurant. As a result of the fall, you break your leg. More than likely, you will probably sue the restaurant owner rather than the janitor because the owner will usually have “deeper pockets”.

People usually can sue employers for torts committed by employees The reason why people do this is because the employer is in a better position than the employee to handle the cost of the suit The employer may purchase liability insurance or raise prices. This will make the employer very cautious when hiring/training/supervising employees.

Children may also commit torts and may be sued for damages. To recover these damages (committed by a minor) who have to prove that the child acted unreasonably for someone of that age and experience. Since children do not have “deep pockets” plaintiffs usually sue the minors parents.

In certain cases, some people are freed from some tort suits. Courts generally do not allow children to sue their parents or vice versa. In the past, courts refused to allow husbands and wives to sue each other, now since times have changed husbands and wives are given the right to sue each other. Also, brothers and sisters may be able to sue each other. The federal and state governments are also freed from tort liability. The president, federal judges, and members of congress are also not able to get sued from tort liability acts.

Sometimes there can be more than one plaintiff or injured party. If a situation such as this happens, the injured parties can form together and create what is known as a “class”, and bring their lawsuit together.

For example… If an entire town gets its drinking water from the same source and a company pollutes the water, the people of the town may get together and file a class action suit against the company. In this case, the damage award will be divided among the townspeople who bring the suit.

Taking your case to court