Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
Overview of What Tort Law in Illinois Means
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We get questions from people who have heard terms that don’t make sense to them. They are often thrown around by lawyers that they have talked to that don’t know how to talk in "plain English." One term that gets thrown around is tort. Hopefully this page explains what that is.
Mr. Smith pulls a chair out from Mr. Jones, causing Mr. Jones to fall and suffer a back injury. Mr. Jones can seek compensation from Mr. Smith via tort law, or a "civil suit." Basically "tort" is a fancy lawyer way of saying personal injury.
This is different from criminal law. If the District Attorney thought Mr. Smith’s act were a crime, Mr. Smith would be prosecuted. In other words, the State would be the plaintiff and the remedy would be jail time or fines.
In tort law, however, the individual who suffered the injuries, or the victim, is the plaintiff and the remedy is monetary compensation, or "damages."
Of course, a wrongdoer can be tried both criminally and civilly, resulting in both jail time and an award for compensation to the victim.
Note that tort law is also different from contract law. If one party fails to complete his part of a contract, then the other party would seek damages under contract law, not tort law.
A basic example of a tort would be a car accident. Suppose Mary was fiddling with her car radio and lost control of her car, slamming into Jane and causing injuries to Jane. This is an example of a negligent tort.
A negligent tort is where the wrongdoer fails to act as a reasonable person would have under the same or similar circumstances. When you are driving, you have a duty to exercise reasonable care while operating your car.
Another example of a tort would be when someone punches someone else. This is called battery and is an example of an intentional tort.
An intentional tort is where the wrongdoer intends to act and causes injury to another person. In addition to battery, other examples of intentional torts include assault, false imprisonment, trespass, nuisance, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Strict liability is another form of tort law but is odd in that the wrongdoer does not necessarily have to be at "fault" to be liable. For example, if you were injured by a defective product and were using it in a reasonably foreseeable way, the product manufacturer would be "strictly liable" no matter how much care was taken to prevent such an injury. An example would be a microwave that explodes when it is on for more than ten minutes causing glass to cut your face.
If you were injured in an accident or by an intentional act of another person or by use of a product, you may have a potential civil lawsuit. A good Illinois tort litigation attorney will be able to tell you how strong your case is and you should not be required to pay anything upfront. These types of cases are typically handled on a contingency basis.
A contingency basis means that you do not have to pay anything to your attorney, including costs and fees, unless you win. If you win, your attorney will receive a portion of your award in damages. If you lose, your attorney will receive nothing, which they understand is the cost of doing business in this type of law.
People come to us to find the right lawyer for their situation. Although we are based in Cook County, we are not just a resource for finding a Chicago tort lawyer. We help people find injury attorneys anywhere in Illinois. If you would like our help please contact us at anytime.