What is a Tort?
A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, that causes harm or loss to another person, for which the law lets the injured party sue the wrongdoer for damages. The word covers a wide range of conduct, from a careless driver causing a crash to a business spreading a damaging lie.
The aim of tort law is to compensate the person harmed and, in some cases, to deter the conduct. A tort case is brought by the injured party (the plaintiff) against the person or organization responsible (the defendant), and the usual remedy is money meant to put the plaintiff back in the position they would have been in had the harm not happened.
Tort law sits within civil law, separate from criminal law and from contract law. It exists largely through court decisions (case law) layered on top of statutes, and the exact rules vary by state and jurisdiction.
Types of torts
Most torts fall into three broad categories, sorted by the wrongdoer's state of mind and the standard the law applies:
- Negligence. The most common category. A defendant is negligent when they owe you a duty of care, breach it by acting unreasonably, and cause you harm as a result. Car accidents, slip-and-falls, and medical malpractice are typical examples. The plaintiff generally must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages.
- Intentional torts. Here the defendant meant to do the act that caused harm, or knew harm was substantially certain to follow. Examples include battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass, defamation, and fraud. Many of these overlap with crimes.
- Strict liability torts. Liability attaches regardless of how careful the defendant was. The focus is on whether the harm occurred, not on fault. Common settings include defective products and abnormally dangerous activities, such as keeping wild animals or handling explosives.
Tort vs crime vs breach of contract
People often blur these three, but they protect different interests and lead to different proceedings. The table below maps the core differences (rules vary by jurisdiction).
| Feature | Tort | Crime | Breach of Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong is against | A private person or entity | Society as a whole | The other party to an agreement |
| Who brings the case | The injured party (plaintiff) | The government (prosecutor) | The non-breaching party |
| Duty arises from | Law (imposed on everyone) | Criminal statute | The parties' own agreement |
| Typical remedy | Damages (sometimes an injunction) | Punishment (fine, imprisonment) | Damages or specific performance |
| Burden of proof | Preponderance of the evidence | Beyond a reasonable doubt | Preponderance of the evidence |
A single act can be more than one of these at once. A drunk-driving crash, for instance, can be a crime prosecuted by the state and a tort the victim sues over, while the same facts could even touch a breach of contract if a separate agreement was involved.
Where it applies and examples
Torts cover everyday harms across nearly every area of life:
- Personal injury. A driver runs a red light and injures a pedestrian (negligence).
- Defective products. A faulty appliance causes a fire (often strict liability).
- Defamation. A false published statement damages someone's reputation (intentional tort).
- Property and premises. A store fails to clean up a spill and a customer falls (negligence).
- Professional malpractice. A provider's substandard work harms a client or patient (negligence).
Because each state sets its own rules and deadlines, the same facts can play out differently depending on where the harm happened. A claim must also be filed within the statute of limitations, and building it usually involves discovery to gather the evidence of fault and harm.
Why a tort matters
For the person harmed, tort law is often the main route to compensation for injuries, lost income, medical bills, and other losses caused by someone else's conduct. Understanding which category a claim fits shapes what you have to prove and what you can recover. If you are weighing a personal injury claim, a personal injury settlement calculator can give you a rough sense of potential value before you talk to a lawyer.
For businesses and professionals, tort exposure drives decisions about safety, insurance, and risk. A single negligence or product-liability claim can carry significant cost, so identifying duties owed and reducing foreseeable harm is part of routine operations.
Tort questions turn on facts and on how courts have ruled in similar situations, which makes research and document work central to any claim. An AI legal assistant like LegesGPT can help you spot the likely category of a claim, surface the elements you would need to prove, and point you toward the cases and statutes to verify, so you work through tort issues faster while still confirming the rules for your jurisdiction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a tort and a crime?
A tort is a civil wrong against a private person, and the injured party sues to recover money damages. A crime is an offense against society, prosecuted by the government, and the goal is punishment such as a fine or imprisonment. The same act, like assault or drunk driving, can be both a crime and a tort, so the wrongdoer may face criminal charges and a separate civil lawsuit at the same time.
What are the three main types of torts?
Most torts fall into negligence, intentional torts, and strict liability. Negligence involves careless conduct that breaches a duty of care, like a car accident. Intentional torts involve deliberate acts such as battery, fraud, or defamation. Strict liability applies regardless of fault, most often in defective product and abnormally dangerous activity cases. The exact elements and defenses vary by state and jurisdiction.
Is a breach of contract a tort?
No. By definition, a tort is a civil wrong other than a breach of contract. A breach involves failing to perform a duty the parties created in their own agreement, while a tort involves a duty the law imposes on everyone. The same situation can sometimes give rise to both a contract claim and a tort claim, but they are analyzed separately and can carry different remedies and deadlines.