Need To Know More About Intentional Tort?

There are quite a lot of different civil lawsuits that actually involve torts. This is the act which is committed by one party and it manages to end up causing a lot of harm to others. This particular harm could be in the form of a physical injury, damage to your property or even damage to your own reputation – it doesn’t really matter as far as giving merits for a claim go. Most of the torts, however, would be resulting from negligence – this could be defined rather broadly as an act of carelessness. However, there are other subsections of tort and one of which covers intentional torts. And, they have nothing to do with carelessness.

It is incredibly important to differentiate between negligence and intent and this is something that one needs to take very seriously. With this in mind, let’s have a look.

Intent vs. Negligence

When you say that a tort is intentional it means that there is an element of intent. This means that it is no longer an accident. Therefore, the person who actually went through it had done so on purpose. He had taken the time to plan it, to envision the results and to commit to doing the act. This is why in a lot of cases this could be considered an act of crime.

For instance, a car accident is actually nothing more than this – an accident. If neither of the parties had intended to go ahead and hit the other ones, the case would be rather simple and the negligence here is quite obvious. However, if one of the drivers intended to strike your car because he wanted to cause you bodily injuries, he had committed intentional tort of battery. Both cases might result in the same damages but they are nothing alike. They would be treated differently and it’s no longer just a matter of insurance.

Crimes vs Intentional Torts

Now, there is a very fine and subtle line between both which needs to be taken into proper consideration. An intentional tort, in many cases, could constitute a crime. However, that’s not always the case and it’s usually a matter of assessing the damages as well as the intended damages. If the wrongdoer had wanted to kill the assaulted but he only managed to give him a brain concussion, this doesn’t mean that this is not a crime. However, if he wanted to damage his car and he did just that – damaged his car mildly, this is an intentional tort and it’s far from being a criminalized act of defiance.

In any case, these are important considerations and they need to be accounted for with the help of a professional lawyer. They will look at the evidence, consider the damages and account for the due compensation. As each case is different, the lawyer will need to consider all aspects before they file for a claim or a trial.