I came across the Bodily Injury Blog which is authored by Washington personal injury attorney Edward “Ted” Bills. The Blog provides great information on personal injury law and I highly recommend it. Attorney Bills has a great post that explains tort law. Here is the post:

All you need to know about Personal Injury Law

Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Personal Injury law comes under the umbrella of law of torts in the US. The name tort is derived from the French word tort, which means wrong. Personal Injury is also a term applied to any damage or harm done to a person’s body, reputation, rights, or property.

Personal Injury claims can be filed under both civil and criminal law suits depending upon the details of the case.

Personal Injury includes, dog bites, motor accidents, wrongful death, product liability, medical malpractice, sexual harassment, emotional duress, bodily harm, damage to reputation, nuisance etc. The person suffering the personal injury may be able to recover damages from the person/company causing the injury.

Damages are financial compensation for loss of income, disability, loss of love and affection, emotional distress, pain etc.

The law of torts is divided into 4 categories: intentional torts, negligence, strict liability and nuisance.

1. Intentional torts are those torts that are committed by a wrong doer purposely. For example: battery, assault, false imprisonment, defamation, trespassing, invasion of privacy, causing emotional distress, racial or sexual discrimination, and etc.
2. Negligence torts are those wrongs, which are done unintentionally. They are the most common of the tort cases in court. They include product liability (products that are dangerous to the users even when used correctly), medical malpractice, misdiagnosis, and etc.
3. Strict liability torts are those wrongs, which are borne out of occupational hazards and use of dangerous products. They need not be due to negligence of the defendant. Occupational hazards like construction workers, factory workers, and etc. Anywhere it is the duty of the employer to provide a safe working atmosphere.
4. Nuisance torts are those wrongs which interfere with an individual’s use of his land or property. For instance noise pollution by a factory, smoking by individuals in public places, and etc.

If you are injured, contact a personal injury lawyer to check the merits of the case, to see if a case exists, the amount of potential damages, and etc.

Most law firms take personal injury cases on contingency basis, meaning that the lawyer gets paid from the claim on winning the case.