This is an introductory document to tort law, consisting of a combination of information from module guide, text books and lecture notes into a summarized easy to understand format
Tort Law: Introduction
Nature of Tortious Liability.
What is Tort?
o Takes many forms, it includes: negligence, nuisance, libel,
slander, trespass, assault and battery.
o Tort law is a branch of civil law which provides a remedy for
a wrongfully inflicted injury or loss or for infringement of a
protected interest. When tort law declares an interest is
protected, it is said to create a right on the part of claimant
against invasions of that right and at the same time
imposes a duty of obligation on a defendant not to invade
that interest.
o A definition to describe this whole area is impossible as
each tort has its own characteristics.
o It can be said, the law of tort is the law of civil wrongs, that
is to say, it is concerned with behaviour that is legally
classified as wrong or tortious so as to entitle the claimant
to a remedy.
o Whilst a precise definition of tort is not available, there is in
fact a number of principles within tort that can determine
when liability in tort will arise.
o Tort law protects the different interest against different
kinds of interference, usually by compensation or
sometimes the courts may issue an order (an injunction-
most commonly granted in tort of nuisance, very rarely
granted in defamation claims) to stop the defendant from
engaging in the wrongful conduct.
o Tort law does not protect all interests; Bradford Corporation
v Pickles 1895.
o Except in cases of no-fault liability torts, intentions or
carelessness of the defendant’s action or inaction must be
proved.
o Damage:
- In tort, material damage has to be shown before there can
be an action and there are rules about which losses are and
are not recoverable. Generally, unless the claimant can
prove that the defendant’s tort causes the loss suffered, the
action will fail.
o Conduct can be actionable even though no damage is
suffered
, -Some instances, intentional or negligent conduct can be
actionable even where there is no damage. Where one of
the claimant’s rights has been infringed, there is no need
for damage to be shown.
o Not all damage is compensated by the law or tort.
-Some persons who suffers harm or loss as a result of a
tortious conduct may not be able to receive compensation
as the damage, they suffer is not that the law of tort will
compensate, therefore, the defendant’s intentional or
careless conduct must lead to damage that is recognizable
in tort.
- Types of damages recognizable in tort include but not
limited to:
1. Physical damage to the person or property
2. Psychological damage resulting from physical harm or the
apprehension of physical harm.
3. Interference with land.
4. Economic Loss.
o Actionable damage
-Four general principles judges often apply in deciding
whether or not to acknowledge a form of injury or loss as
recognizable in tort law:
1. Losses or injury arising from natural causes are excluded
from the ambit or tort.
2. Injuries or other losses arising from a traumatic event
such as a car crash or result of the claimant falling through
a loose floor board are forms of injury that tort law
privileges above others.
3. Types of losses that are compensated for within other
categories of law are less likely to be compensated for or
are likely to receive compensation in a limited form in tort.
4. Forms of injury or loss likely to impact a large number of
potential claimants poses great problems in relation to
compensation than injuries or losses which by nature affect
a small class of persons; Alcock v Chief Constable of South
Yorkshire 1992.
Personal Injury: Most complex and broad category of
damage and can be reduced in three further subcategories:
-Traumatic physical injury
-Non-traumatic physical injuries
-Psychological harm or nervous shock.
o Damage excluded or limited from the scope of negligence.
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