{"id":2886,"date":"2023-02-19T16:10:59","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T16:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/introduction-to-tort-law\/"},"modified":"2025-05-20T17:15:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:15:37","slug":"introduction-to-tort-law","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/chapter\/introduction-to-tort-law\/","title":{"raw":"Learn It 5.2.1: What Is Tort Law?","rendered":"Learn It 5.2.1: What Is Tort Law?"},"content":{"raw":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\">\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Define tort law&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Define tort law<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand negligence&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand negligence<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand strict liability&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand strict liability<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Explain the three types of product liability cases&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14721,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Explain the three types of product liability cases<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand compensation for damages&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14720,&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand compensation for damages<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<h2>What Is a Tort?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7762\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"157\"]<img class=\"wp-image-7762\" src=\"https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"paramedic inside an ambulance\" width=\"157\" height=\"236\" \/> Figure 1. Torts include physical injuries and other types of harm.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<p>A <strong>tort<\/strong> is a civil, or private, act that harms other people or their property. The harm may involve physical injury, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, or defamation (injuring a person\u2019s character by publication of false statements). The injured party may go to court and sue the wrongdoer to recover damages for the harm or loss. A tort is not the result of a breach of contract, which would be settled under contract law. Torts are part of common law. Examples of tort cases that happen in a business context are medical malpractice (substandard health care that results in harm), slander (an untrue oral statement that damages a person\u2019s or business' reputation), libel (an untrue written statement that damages a person\u2019s or business' reputation), product liability (discussed in the next section), and fraud.<\/p>\r\n<p>Although some acts can be both torts and crimes (battery, for instance, is a criminal act that would be prosecuted by the state and is a tort because of the injury to the person.), torts are treated differently than crimes in the legal system. Torts are private wrongs and are settled in civil courts; the party who is injured seeks to be compensated by the party who caused the harm. Crimes are violations of public law where the government seeks to prove the accused committed the offense in criminal court and have a punishment imposed by a judge. The purpose of criminal law is to punish the person who committed the crime. The purpose of tort law is to provide remedies or compensation to the injured party.<\/p>\r\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\">[ohm2_question height=\"200\"]3881[\/ohm2_question]<\/section>","rendered":"<section class=\"textbox learningGoals\">\n<ul>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Define tort law&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Define tort law<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand negligence&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand negligence<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand strict liability&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:15233,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand strict liability<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Explain the three types of product liability cases&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14721,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Explain the three types of product liability cases<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Understand compensation for damages&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:14720,&quot;10&quot;:0,&quot;11&quot;:4,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;15&quot;:&quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;16&quot;:10}\">Understand compensation for damages<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<h2>What Is a Tort?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7762\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7762\" style=\"width: 157px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-7762\" src=\"https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"paramedic inside an ambulance\" width=\"157\" height=\"236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-1200x1800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-65x98.jpg 65w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-225x338.jpg 225w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-350x525.jpg 350w, https:\/\/content-cdn.one.lumenlearning.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/02\/20223514\/pexels-mikhail-nilov-8941920-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 157px) 100vw, 157px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Figure 1. Torts include physical injuries and other types of harm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A <strong>tort<\/strong> is a civil, or private, act that harms other people or their property. The harm may involve physical injury, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, or defamation (injuring a person\u2019s character by publication of false statements). The injured party may go to court and sue the wrongdoer to recover damages for the harm or loss. A tort is not the result of a breach of contract, which would be settled under contract law. Torts are part of common law. Examples of tort cases that happen in a business context are medical malpractice (substandard health care that results in harm), slander (an untrue oral statement that damages a person\u2019s or business&#8217; reputation), libel (an untrue written statement that damages a person\u2019s or business&#8217; reputation), product liability (discussed in the next section), and fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Although some acts can be both torts and crimes (battery, for instance, is a criminal act that would be prosecuted by the state and is a tort because of the injury to the person.), torts are treated differently than crimes in the legal system. Torts are private wrongs and are settled in civil courts; the party who is injured seeks to be compensated by the party who caused the harm. Crimes are violations of public law where the government seeks to prove the accused committed the offense in criminal court and have a punishment imposed by a judge. The purpose of criminal law is to punish the person who committed the crime. The purpose of tort law is to provide remedies or compensation to the injured party.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textbox tryIt\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"ohm3881\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/ohm.one.lumenlearning.com\/multiembedq.php?id=3881&theme=lumen&iframe_resize_id=ohm3881&source=tnh&show_question_numbers\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200\"><\/iframe><\/section>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc-attribution\",\"description\":\"Understanding the Legal and Tax Environment\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"OpenStax\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/introduction-business\/pages\/a-understanding-the-legal-and-tax-environment\",\"project\":\"Introduction to Business\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"paramedic\",\"author\":\"Mikhail Nilov\",\"organization\":\"Pexels\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/a-paramedic-inside-the-ambulance-8941920\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":2878,"module-header":"learn_it","content_attributions":[{"type":"cc-attribution","description":"Understanding the Legal and Tax Environment","author":"","organization":"OpenStax","url":"https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/introduction-business\/pages\/a-understanding-the-legal-and-tax-environment","project":"Introduction to Business","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""},{"type":"cc","description":"paramedic","author":"Mikhail Nilov","organization":"Pexels","url":"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/a-paramedic-inside-the-ambulance-8941920\/","project":"","license":"cc-by","license_terms":""}],"internal_book_links":[],"video_content":null,"cc_video_embed_content":{"cc_scripts":"","media_targets":[]},"try_it_collection":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2886"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9392,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2886\/revisions\/9392"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/2878"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/2886\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=2886"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=2886"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/introductiontobusiness\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=2886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}