Torts, Strict Liability & Negligence

What are the Different Types of Personal Injuries? Grossman Law Offices Can Help With Them All

In The State of Texas, there are three main personal injury categories: Intentional Torts, Strict Liability, and Negligence. Regardless of the type of incident that produces an injury, whether it be a car accident, 18-wheeler accident, slip and fall, medical malpractice, or any other type of accident, any personal injury case will fall under the above mentioned categories and, as such, will be seen differently in the eyes of the law depending upon the circumstances. This ultimately means that the options available to you will be somewhat different.

Intentional Torts

A "tort" is a legal term that refers to any wrongful act that is inflicted upon a person which violates a legal duty owed to them. In this context, the term "tort" is used to mean the injury sustained by the victim (plaintiff). An intentional tort is any DELIBERATE violation of a legal duty owed to a person. In the context of personal injury law, an intentional tort generally refers to the injuries resulting from an assault of some variety. While most people think of such a crime as being punished only by criminal law in Texas, intentional torts are, in fact, capable of being remedied in civil court. In other words, the plaintiff can sue the defendant for deliberately inflicting harm upon them.

Perhaps the most famous example of this would be the O.J. Simpson civil trial. Essentially, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the significant criminal charges against him for his role in the murder of Nicole Brown-Simpson. Ms. Brown's family initiated a separate civil trial against O.J. Simpson and won a large verdict when the jury concluded that Mr. Simpson had committed an intentional tort against Ms. Brown resulting in her death.

One thing that is important to note is that most insurance policies do not cover intentional torts. For example, if a home owner invites you over and you are accidentally injured, their home owner's insurance policy can be sued to compensate you for your injuries. However, if the homeowner deliberately hurts you, the insurance company has no obligation to pay you anything.

Strict Liability

Strict liability refers to an instance where the defendant is automatically liable regardless of culpability. Generally, this relates to matters of product liability, whereby the act of selling or manufacturing a product binds the defendant to certain legal duties. Regardless of their intentions or direct participation, they are more or less liable by association. In such a case, the plaintiff does not have to prove the defendant's liability.

For example, if a vehicle company manufactures a model of vehicle with faulty brakes, that manufacturer can be held liable for any accidents resulting from those fault brakes. Even though the manufacturer did not directly cause the accident, they can be held liable because manufacturers have a responsibility to make sure that their products are safe.

Negligence

Negligence cases are the most common form of personal injury case. Under Texas law, we all owe a legal duty to everyone around us to conduct ourselves in a reasonable manner as to avoid inflicting harm upon another person. When a person fails to exercise such consideration, they are said to have committed an act of negligence.

A very common example of this is a routine car accident. By not following the rules of the road and putting forth a reasonable effort to not commit a tort against those around them, the person who causes a car accident is acting negligently. In some cases, negligence can be tricky to prove and in other cases negligence is easy to determine and the focus shifts to validating the damages of the case.