Tort law and negligence

Tort is an area of law that provides remedies for civil injustice. It is a civil action where one party can bring a claim against another for a civil wrong. Negligence is a principle of tort law, in which carelessness is punished by awarding any victim compensation. Negligence is not the only type of tort and torts can also include intentional harm and in some cases strict liability.

However, negligence is the most common and can be defined as conduct which falls below the standard required to protect others against unreasonable risk of harm. Negligence can occur on the road, at work, in a professional capacity or any other situation in which a duty of care is owed from one party to another. Once a duty of care is established - such as from a solicitor to their client or a dentist to their patient - any breach of that duty, resulting in financial or personal injury, falls under the tort of negligence.

However, it is not enough to say that a third party owes you a duty of care, which they breached and has resulted in loss to you. You must also prove that their negligence was a direct cause of the loss and that any loss suffered is not too remote. These principles can be further explained to you by either a personal injury lawyer or a professional negligence lawyer. In either case you should contact one immediately if you have suffered as the law places a time limit on you by which you must have brought your claim or risk becoming barred from doing so.

If you would like to obtain legal advice on negligence and tort law then Contact Law can put you in touch with a local specialist negligence solicitor free of charge. So, if you have any questions or would like our help in finding negligence solicitors please call us on 0800 1777 162 or complete the web-form above.