Types of Personal Injury Cases in Texas
In The State of Texas, there are three main categories that
all personal injury cases can be classified as:
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 practice, 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, 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.
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 and be
tricky to prove and in other cases negligence is easy to determine and
the focus shifts to validating the damages of the case.
Related Articles:
Questions answered by this article:
What is a tort?
What is negligence?
What is an intentional tort?
What is strict liability?
What are the different types of personal injury cases?