What Is a Tort? Types of Torts With Real Examples

Last updated: 17 October 2026. This guide explains general principles of tort law in the United States and England and is not legal advice. Rules differ between states and countries.

Short answer: A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, that causes someone harm and lets the injured person sue for compensation. The word comes from the French for “wrong”. Torts fall into three main types: intentional torts such as battery, negligence such as careless driving, and strict liability such as defective products. The usual remedy is money damages.

Key takeaways

• Tort law protects people from harm to their body, property, reputation and finances, and makes the wrongdoer pay.
• The three categories are intentional torts, negligence and strict liability. Negligence is by far the most common in practice.
• A negligence claim needs four elements: duty, breach, causation and damages.
• The same act can be both a tort and a crime. A tort case is brought by the victim for compensation; a criminal case is brought by the state for punishment.
• Landmark cases such as Donoghue v Stevenson, Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad and Liebeck v. McDonald’s show how the rules work in real life.

What is a tort in simple terms?

A tort happens when someone breaks a duty the law places on everyone, rather than a promise they made, and another person is harmed as a result. If a driver runs a red light and injures a pedestrian, the driver has committed a tort. The pedestrian can bring a civil lawsuit, and the person found responsible, called the tortfeasor, pays damages.

Cornell’s Legal Information Institute describes a tort as an act or omission that gives rise to injury or harm to another and amounts to a civil wrong for which courts impose liability. Tort law serves three purposes: compensating victims, deterring careless or harmful behaviour, and placing the cost of harm on the person who caused it.

Most US tort law comes from state common law, built up through court decisions, with statutes changing it in areas such as damages caps and time limits. England and Wales follow a similar common law approach, which is why English cases are still taught in American law schools.

What are the three types of torts?

Some torts, such as defamation and invasion of privacy, are often grouped separately as “dignitary” torts because they protect reputation and personal dignity rather than body or property. See our guide to defamation: libel vs slander.

Intentional torts

Intent here does not mean the defendant wanted to injure anyone. It means they meant to do the act, or knew with substantial certainty what would follow. A person who pulls a chair away as someone sits down commits battery even if it was meant as a joke. Battery is harmful or offensive contact; assault is putting someone in reasonable fear of imminent contact. Our explainer on trespass to the person: assault and battery covers these in detail.

Negligence

Negligence is the failure to act as a reasonably careful person would in the same situation. It covers most personal injury claims. The four elements are set out in the next section.

Strict liability

Strict liability makes a defendant pay even if they were careful. The idea goes back to Rylands v Fletcher (1868), where water from a mill owner’s new reservoir flooded a neighbour’s mine. The House of Lords held the owner liable for the escape of something likely to do mischief, without proof of negligence. In the US, strict liability for defective products took hold after Greenman v. Yuba Power Products (California, 1963). For the difference between strict and absolute liability, see our strict vs absolute liability guide.

What are the elements of negligence?

Sometimes the accident itself suggests negligence, such as a surgical instrument left inside a patient. Courts then allow an inference of carelessness under the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. For a step-by-step look at proving each element, read how to prove negligence in torts.

Defendants often argue the claimant was partly to blame. Most US states apply comparative negligence, which reduces damages by the claimant’s share of fault. A handful still apply contributory negligence, where any fault by the claimant can bar recovery altogether. Our guide to contributory negligence defences explains the differences.

What are the most famous tort cases?

Donoghue v Stevenson (1932): the neighbour principle

In 1928 May Donoghue drank a bottle of ginger beer, bought for her by a friend at a café in Paisley, Scotland. She said the remains of a decomposed snail were in the opaque bottle and that she fell ill. Because she had not bought the drink, she had no contract with anyone. The House of Lords held by a 3-2 majority that the manufacturer could still owe her a duty of care. Lord Atkin’s speech set out the “neighbour principle”: you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour, meaning people closely and directly affected by what you do. You can read the judgment on BAILII. It is the foundation of modern negligence across the common law world.

Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad (1928): foreseeable plaintiffs

Railway guards helped a man carrying a package onto a moving train. The package, which held fireworks, fell and exploded. Scales at the other end of the platform fell and injured Helen Palsgraf. New York’s Court of Appeals, in an opinion by Chief Judge Benjamin Cardozo, ruled against her. The guards’ conduct created no foreseeable risk to someone standing so far away, so there was no duty owed to her. Palsgraf is still the classic case on duty and proximate cause.

Liebeck v. McDonald’s (1994): the hot coffee case

This case is widely misreported as a “frivolous lawsuit”. In 1992 Stella Liebeck, aged 79, spilled McDonald’s coffee in her lap while a passenger in a parked car. She suffered third-degree burns over about 16% of her body, was hospitalised for eight days and needed skin grafts. McDonald’s served coffee at 180 to 190°F, and about 700 burn claims had been made before. She asked McDonald’s to cover her medical costs and was offered $800.

The New Mexico jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages, reduced to $160,000 because it found her 20% at fault, and $2.7 million in punitive damages. The judge cut the punitive award to $480,000. The parties later settled for a confidential amount before an appeal was heard. The full facts are set out by the American Museum of Tort Law.

How is a tort different from a crime or a breach of contract?

One act can lead to both a tort case and a criminal case. The best-known example is O.J. Simpson: acquitted of murder in 1995, he was found liable in a 1997 civil wrongful death and battery case brought by the victims’ families. The lower civil standard of proof explains how both results can stand together.

What damages can you get in a tort case?

• Compensatory damages: economic losses such as medical bills, lost earnings and property damage, plus non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.
• Punitive damages: extra damages to punish especially reckless or malicious conduct. In State Farm v. Campbell (2003), the US Supreme Court said few awards exceeding a single-digit ratio between punitive and compensatory damages will satisfy due process. See our explainer on punitive damages.
• Nominal damages: a small sum where a right was violated but little loss occurred, common in trespass.
• Injunctions: a court order to stop the harmful conduct, used for nuisance and continuing trespass.

Many states cap non-economic or punitive damages, especially in medical malpractice. Claims are also subject to a statute of limitations, often two or three years for personal injury in US states, so delay can end a good claim. For a fuller treatment of remedies, read our tort law remedies guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is a tort in one sentence?

A tort is a civil wrong, other than a breach of contract, that causes harm to another person and allows the victim to sue for compensation.

What are the most common torts?

Negligence claims arising from car accidents, slip and falls and medical malpractice are the most common. Common intentional torts include battery, assault, false imprisonment and defamation.

Is negligence a tort or a crime?

Negligence is mainly a tort. Very serious negligence can also be a crime, such as gross negligence manslaughter in England or criminally negligent homicide in many US states.

What is the difference between a tort and a tortfeasor?

The tort is the wrongful act. The tortfeasor is the person or company who committed it and can be held liable.

Did Stella Liebeck really win millions from McDonald’s?

No. The jury awarded about $2.9 million in total, but the judge reduced it to $640,000 and the parties then settled privately for an undisclosed sum, reported to be under $500,000.

Do you need a lawyer to bring a tort claim?

Not legally, but personal injury and tort claims are complex and time-limited. In the US, many injury lawyers work on a contingency fee, taking a percentage only if you recover money.

Tort rules, damages caps and filing deadlines vary by state and country. If you have been injured or are facing a claim, speak to a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction promptly.