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The law of torts deals with matters of pecuniary compensation for injuries to person and property and co-relates wrongful act to the harm which it causes. Some kinds of harm call for liability independent of one’s fault, while other kinds create liability only for intentional and negligent wrongdoing, therefore the law of torts exhibits different scales of evaluation at different levels. Ordinarily, the law of torts shifts the loss from the ‘victim’ to the inflicting person, however, at times, a third party is roped in to shoulder the liability. Eg. social insurance for inevitable incidents of modern social living such as road accidents and accidents in industrial establishments etc. Our expert tort lawyers in Dehradun are masters in presenting the rightfull tortious claims.
Any act of omission or commission causing damage to a legally protected interest of an individual is a tort. The remedy for which is an action for unliquidated damages. Tort is generally a breach of duty. In India, the law of torts is uncodified and is still in the process of development. In the meantime, the law of torts in India derives its spirit from the precedents of natural justice, both – national and international.
Tort is redressed by compensation and not by punishment or fine.
The same wrong can be a tort as well as a crime concurrently.
Tort differs from breach of contract, as in a contract, the rights and duties arise from the agreement and are enforceable against the parties concerned and a breach may be redressed by liquidated damages. A tort, on the other hand, arises from a breach of duty and is redressible by a suit for unliquidated damages.
In order to claim damages, there must be a breach of the duty by the defendants towards the plaintiff, which results in an injury.
Damnum sine injuria means damage without legal injury. Meaning that the plaintiff must prove that he has sustained a legal injury in order to make someone liable in tort. Without an infringement of a legal right, no action lies in against the defendant.
Injuria sine damnum means legal injury without any damage. This means that there is an infringement of legal rights but no actual loss has taken place. Right to sue is available against the wrongdoer irrespective of the fact whether any actual loss is sustained or not.
Every person is responsible for his own act of omission and commission but, sometimes a person can be made liable for the actions of others – vicarious liability. Essential elements are:
Lability of a master for the act of his servant during the course of the employment is based on the principle of “respondent superior”, whereby, a person is held responsible for the act of his subordinate and if he does an act through his servant then he is deemed to be liable himself. Same principles are followed in the principal-agent relationship.
This maxim means “to one who volunteers, no harm is done”. This further means that if a person after knowing all the risks and the facts of a circumstance, willingly and voluntarily consents, then later cannot ask for compensation for the resulted injury. Law of torts uses this as a defense and saving the defendant from all kinds of liability. Essentials:
When a person commits a breach of duty by ‘failing to perform’ and results in causing ‘legal damage’. In other words, the irresponsibility of one person causes injury to another. The tort of negligence is based on the principle of ‘Reasonable foreseeability’, which means, before or at the time of doing the act, if a person can reasonably foresee that due to his act a damage could be caused to another person, yet, he continues to do so, he is said to have committed a tort of negligence.
ASSAULT- An act that creates a reasonable apprehension in the mind of a person about a physical threat or harm accompanied by the capacity to do so. There is:
BATTERY– an act of harmful, offensive and unlawful touching of a person against his will. It is an accomplished assault. There is:
FALSE IMPRISONMENT- This means intentionally restricting/ imprisoning a person by someone who does not have a legal authority to do so. Arresting a person without any legal warrant and authority. There is:
Nuisance means ‘to hurt’ or ‘to annoy’. Any unlawful interference with a person’s interest in land or some rights results in nuisance. Remedies: Damages, Injunction, Abatement. There are two types of nuisance:
This refers to an unjustifiable physical encroachment of land of one person by another. If any person enters the land of another person without permission or remains upon that land or places an object on that land, he is said to have committed the tort of trespass to land. Remedies: Damages, Injunction.
DEFAMATION – this means publishing false and defamatory statement about someone without any lawful justification. This action would then result in lowering the reputation in the eyes of the society. Such an act should be done intentionally, either written or spoken which harms a person’s reputation. There are two types of defamation:
Essential elements:
STRICT LIABILITY- sometimes a person is held responsible for doing wrong without he being negligent or having any intention of that wrong. He is still held responsible for his wrong act even if he has taken necessary steps to prevent that act. This is the principle of strict liability. ABSOLUTE LIABILITY- It is a no-fault theory liability i.e. a wrongdoer is considered absolutely liable for the act of omission or commission. Such a liability is valid only to those people who are involved in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity.
Under the tort law, a minor (below 18 years) can sue like an adult but through his parents and can also be sued like adults if they are old enough to form an intention.
We do not have a codified, specific law related to torts in India. In the absence of which, Specific Relief Act 1963 takes care of civil wrongs and suitable reliefs of injunctions, specific performance of contracts, cancellation of contracts etc. are secured under the same through a civil suit in the appropriate forum at the district level. Our tort lawyers in Dehradun can be contacted for effective and efficient resolution in matters of torts and personal injury cases.
Golden Rules
**We deject un-ethical and immoral practices, and reserve our rights of extending legal services only to a select clientele which exhibits civility, faith in law, sound moral footing, and good conscience. Our legal counsels defend the ones who have falsely been implicated, and prosecute for those who have actually been victimized – in either case, our counsels reserve their right of exercising discretion in accepting or rejecting a brief/ lawsuit.