Civil Liability and Torts

Defamation per se refers to categories of defamatory statements treated as inherently harmful without separate proof of special damages.

Dram shop liability is legal responsibility that may apply to alcohol sellers or servers for certain harms caused by an intoxicated person.

The eggshell plaintiff rule means a defendant may be responsible for the full extent of harm even when the plaintiff was unusually vulnerable.

Negligent hiring is a claim that an employer failed to use reasonable care when hiring someone who later caused foreseeable harm.

An attractive nuisance is a dangerous property condition that may draw children and create special premises-liability duties.

Compensatory damages are money awarded to compensate a person for proven loss, injury, or harm.

Conversion is a tort involving serious interference with another person's personal property, often treated like a civil version of taking or misusing property.

Economic damages are compensatory damages for measurable financial losses such as bills, lost income, or repair costs.

Failure to warn is a claim that a seller, manufacturer, or responsible party did not provide adequate warnings about a known or foreseeable risk.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is a tort based on extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional harm.

Invasion of privacy is a category of tort claims involving improper intrusion, disclosure, or use of a person's private life or identity.

Joint and several liability is a rule that can make one defendant responsible for all recoverable damages even when multiple defendants contributed to the harm.

Loss of consortium is a damages concept for certain relationship harms caused by injury to a spouse or close family member.

Negligence per se is a doctrine that may treat violation of a safety statute or regulation as establishing breach of duty in a negligence case.

Negligent entrustment is a claim based on giving a dangerous item or instrumentality to someone who is likely to use it unsafely.

Negligent infliction of emotional distress is a tort theory for emotional harm caused by careless conduct under limited legal circumstances.

Negligent misrepresentation is a civil claim based on careless false information that another person reasonably relies on to their detriment.

Nominal damages are a small money award recognizing that a legal right was violated even without substantial proven loss.

Non-economic damages compensate for intangible harm such as pain, suffering, emotional distress, or loss of enjoyment.

Pain and suffering is non-economic harm involving physical pain, discomfort, distress, or reduced quality of life after an injury.

A personal injury claim seeks legal responsibility for physical, emotional, or related harm caused by another party's conduct.

Premises liability is a tort area involving injuries caused by unsafe conditions on land or buildings.

Res ipsa loquitur is a negligence doctrine allowing an inference of negligence from the nature of an accident in limited circumstances.

A survival action continues certain legal claims that the deceased person could have brought if they had lived.

Tortious interference is a civil claim based on improper interference with a contract or business expectancy.

Trespass to chattels is a tort involving interference with another person's personal property that is less severe than conversion.

Vicarious liability is liability imposed on one party for another person's conduct because of a legal relationship, such as employer and employee.

A wrongful death claim is a civil claim arising when a person's death is allegedly caused by another party's legally wrongful conduct.

Learn what assault means in tort law and how it differs from battery and ordinary threats.

Understand assumption of risk and how it can affect liability when a plaintiff knowingly confronts a danger.

Understand battery in tort law and how it differs from assault and negligence-based injury claims.

Causation asks whether a defendant's conduct legally caused the harm that the plaintiff claims.

Comparative negligence reduces a plaintiff's recovery when the plaintiff's own negligence contributed to the harm.

Learn what contributory negligence means and how plaintiff fault can affect or bar recovery in some tort cases.

Damages are money awarded to compensate for harm or loss caused by a legal wrong.

Defamation is a false statement that harms a person's reputation and can give rise to a civil claim.

Duty of care is the legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward others in a given situation.

Learn what false imprisonment means in tort law and why unlawful restraint can create civil liability.

Understand fraud as a tort and how intentional deception can create civil liability.

Understand what an intentional tort is and how it differs from negligence-based civil liability.

Negligence is the failure to use reasonable care, causing legally recognized harm to another person.

Nuisance is a substantial and unreasonable interference with the use or enjoyment of land.

Understand product liability and how manufacturers, sellers, and distributors may face civil claims for defective products.

Learn what proximate cause means in tort law and why courts limit liability to harms closely connected to the wrongful act.

Learn what punitive damages are and why they differ from compensatory damages in tort cases.

Strict liability is liability imposed without requiring proof that the defendant acted negligently or intentionally.

A tort is a civil wrong that can give an injured party a claim for damages or another remedy.

This section explains legal wrongs, responsibility, and the remedies courts may award in civil disputes.

Trespass is an unauthorized entry onto another person's land or interference with possessory rights.