Assault

One common area included within the scope of personal injury law is that of “assault”, an intentional act or threat which instills fear of imminent physical harm in an individual. No actual touching need take place for an assault to occur: The threat alone is sufficient to be covered by personal injury laws. If the threat actually becomes a reality in which an individual is non-consensually touched by an object or person, the assault becomes a battery. For example, if a person brandished a gun at another person and threatens to shoot, an assault has been committed. A battery occurs if the person actually follows through and succeeds in shooting the person he has threatened. Both of these instances are covered under personal injury law in that a victim has the right to monetary recovery for the wrongful acts perpetrated upon him or her. In the example above, a criminal case might also ensue against the wrongdoer.

Battery

The word "battery" comes from the Latin "battuere" meaning "to beat." In a legal sense, battery occurs when a perpetrator willfully touches or uses force against a person without his or her consent. The act of battery must include actual physical contact between the perpetrator and the victim or to an object connected to the victim. Throwing an object which strikes another individual is a clear case of battery. An example of battery in which there is no actual touching of the victim would be knocking a tray full of food out of another's hands.

Conversion

Conversion is the wrongful act of dominion or control over the chattels (personal property) of another, in denial of the rightful owner’s rights thereto.

To prove conversion these elements must be present:

Infliction Of Emotional Distress

When one person purposefully engages in behavior that is intended to and does cause severe mental anguish in another, he or she is subject to the laws regarding the intentional infliction of emotional distress. There are several factors which determine the extent to which a perpetrator may be liable in such a claim. First, the wrongdoer's behavior must be deemed as extreme and outrageous. If a person of average temperament would suffer emotional distress caused by the wrongdoer's actions, then those actions can be deemed as "outrageous." Consideration would also need to be taken for those individuals whose temperament is more sensitive or high-strung: in cases such as this, the standard for outrageousness can be lowered. Second, it must be done intentionally to cause emotional distress or with reckless disregard to such a consideration. Third, it is also helpful if the victim can show other non-emotional damages such as loss of gainful employment.

An example of intentional inflection of emotional distress would be an aide in a nursing home telling an aged resident that her family has died, when they had not, just to disturb the resident.

False Imprisonment

If an individual inhibits or prevents another's freedom of movement without their consent for any amount of time, he or she has falsely imprisoned that person. This imprisonment may include a physical element to prevent escape, such as being bound with rope, as well as verbal threats of harm to the victim. There are several key factors that contribute to the claim of false imprisonment. First, the confinement must be non-consensual on the victim's part. Second, the confinement must be intentional on the part of the perpetrator. Third, the victim has to have knowledge that he or she is indeed imprisoned. Last, there can be no available means of escape known to the victim.

Fraud / Misrepresentation

A person commits fraud when he or she knowingly makes a material misrepresentation with the intent of inducing another person to act or refrain from acting to his or her detriment. It is also necessary to show that the material misrepresentation was justifiably relied upon when the “victim” acted or failed to act.

“Negligent misrepresentation" occurs when, in the course of a transaction in which a person has a pecuniary interest, a person supplies another with false information to guide their business transaction. That person who so misrepresents can be liable for any pecuniary loss caused by the justifiable reliance upon that false information.

Trespass To Land

The tort of trespass protects one’s interest in the exclusive possession of one’s land. This is distinguished from the tort of "nuisance" which protects one’s interest in the free and unhindered use and enjoyment of land.

A person is subject to liability for trespass, irrespective of whether he causes harm, if he intentionally:

Trespass To Chattels

"Chattel" refers to items of personal property. A person commits trespass to chattel if he or she intentionally possesses someone else's property without their consent, even if only for a brief period of time. Courts require that some sort of actual harm results from the trespass to chattel in order for it to be actionable.

Types Of Damages

Compensatory Damages

The word "compensate" means "to offset an error or undesirable effect". Compensatory damages, therefore, are meant to make up for an injury sustained by an individual. There are two basic types of compensatory damages: actual and general. Actual damages reimburse an individual for funds paid out-of-pocket for medical treatments, lost wages, substitute transportation, property replacement or repair, and rehabilitation. An accident victim can also sue for general damages, which include estimates of loss not involving actual monetary expenditure. Mental anguish, disfigurement, future medical expenses, future lost wages, long-term pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and loss of opportunity are all examples of general damages.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are meant to punish a defendant for acts of gross negligence or intentional misconduct that cause personal injury to the plaintiff. They are not calculated by the extent of the actual injury, but rather are meant to prevent the defendant or others in similar situations from allowing or causing the same sort of accident to happen in the future. For example, if a person intentionally runs an automobile into a pedestrian, punitive damages may be appropriate.

Nominal Damages

In a case where the evidence of actual damages is slight, the courts may still choose to award the plaintiff a small sum of money to acknowledge that he or she was legally wronged by the defendant. These nominal damages may only be sought in intentional tort cases where a physical injury to the plaintiff is not required for a defendant to be found guilty. If the tort committed is battery, for example, the defendant may indeed have shoved the plaintiff in an offensive manner but without causing physical injury. The plaintiff may then be awarded a minimal amount of nominal damages.

Court Costs and Attorney's Fees

If a personal injury case is settled in favor of the plaintiff, he or she may also have recourse to recover some of the expenses of taking the case to court. These court costs would include filing and process server fees, obtaining deposition and court transcripts, and payment to translators. There are some instances in which a plaintiff may also be able to recover attorney and expert witness fees, but this is not as common.