IN THE News - PERSONAL INJURY TOPICS

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. This article discusses the words used to describe those who commit torts and how tort law is a particular collection of accepted legal theories for suing people for money.

Generally, parents are not liable for the torts of their minor children. However, there are exceptions to this general rule, and parents may be held liable in certain circumstances.

A person may have an expectation that he will be entering into a contract or a relationship with another party or parties for a financial benefit in the future, and a defendant may interfere with that prospective advantage. If the defendant unlawfully does so, the injured party may bring an action against him.

In order to prove an intentional tort, such as assault or battery, the plaintiff must show that the defendant intended to commit the tort. Intent may be either specific or general.

Generally, a person has a legal right to use reasonable force to prevent the commission of a tort (such as trespass or conversion) against his or her property. Therefore, if a person uses force to prevent the commission of a tort against his or her property and he or she is sued for assault, battery, or another intentional tort, he or she may claim defense of property as a defense to the action. A person is required to make a request to desist before using force to defend his or her property unless such a request would be futile or dangerous.