Intentional Torts in Birmingham Injury Cases
Not all Birmingham personal injury cases stem from accidents. Injuries are also caused by a person acting with the deliberate intent to cause you injury. Intentional conduct may also be referred to in legal circles as "malicious," "purposeful", or "knowing." A person who acts intentionally and causes harm as a result will be responsible for compensating the victim for any injuries suffered as a result of the intentional conduct.
When someone intentionally injures another person or his or her property, an intentional tort is committed. In general, intentional torts can be classified into two groups: intentional torts against people and intentional torts against property. Among the most common intentional torts in Birmingham personal injury cases are the following, each of which is discussed briefly below:
- Assault
- Battery
- False Imprisonment
- Infliction of Distress
- Fraud/Misrepresentation
- Trespass
- Trespass to Chattels
- Conversion
Although all of the above are crimes, for which the perpetrator may face criminal charges, they are also torts, for which the wrongdoer is legally liable for paying damages to the victim. If you have been injured by the intentional act of another, contact an experienced Birmingham injury lawyer today at 1-877-925-5373 for a free initial consultation.
Assault
Personal injury law protects your right to control what does or does not come in contact with your body. An assault is an act, or the threat of an act, that is intended to place a person in fear of imminent non-consensual physical touching. The tort of assault attempts to compensate victims who have been placed in fear of physical harm. Actual physical contact is not required, and in fact, if there is physical contact, the assault becomes a battery. For example, if someone intentionally throws a rock at you, and you see the rock being hurled toward you, which causes a fear of being hit, the person who threw the rock would be liable for the tort of assault. If the rock actually hits you, however, the assault becomes a battery. In this example, obviously the tort of battery has greater potential liability than the tort of assault.
Battery
Battery is the intentional, non-consensual, harmful or offensive touching of another person, either by or put in motion by the perpetrator. For example, someone commits a battery if he intentionally hits another person either with his fist or with an object thrown by him. For a battery to occur, the wrongdoer must make actual physical contact with the person (or with an object connected to the person, such as clothing, a purse, or the chair in which the person is sitting). Battery includes not only contact that causes physical harm, but also contact that is offensive or insulting. Thus, spitting in someone's face is a battery, as is any other contact brought about in a rude and offensive manner.
False Imprisonment
False imprisonment is the unlawful detention or restraint of another's freedom of movement, for any length of time, without justification or consent. There are four principal elements in a false imprisonment claim:
- The confinement must be without the victim's consent. Confinement can occur in a number of ways, including using a physical barrier (locking someone in a room or tying him up) or by threats of force (threatening to kill or by holding someone at gunpoint).
- There must be an intent to confine the victim.
- The victim must be aware of the confinement or be harmed by it.
- The victim must not be aware of any reasonable means of escape.
For example, if someone intentionally traps you in the basement of their home and locks all the doors, he or she has falsely imprisoned you. However, if there is a window that is within reach and large enough for you to fit through, then you are not falsely imprisoned because the window is a reasonable means of escape.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress is committed when a person engages in extreme or outrageous conduct that is intended to cause, and does in fact cause, severe mental anguish and distress to the victim. What constitutes "outrageous" conduct is determined by deciding whether a reasonable person of "ordinary sensibilities" would feel extreme distress under the circumstances. If the perpetrator knows, however, that the victim is a highly sensitive person, the standard for determining outrageousness is lowered. In order to recover damages in this type of case, the plaintiff must show physical manifestations of distress or some other non-psychological damage (such as loss of wages).
For example, if a man threatens that if you, a garbage collector, do not pay over part of your garbage collection proceeds to him and his henchmen, he will severely beat you. Since the man's conduct is extreme and outrageous, and since he has intended to cause you distress (which he has succeeded in doing), he is liable for infliction of mental distress.
Fraud/Misrepresentation
Fraud occurs when someone intentionally makes false statements to induce another person to engage in certain conduct or give up something of value. For example, if a store sold you what they claimed was a diamond ring, and you later find out it is a worthless cubic zirconium, you would have a claim of fraud against the store. Misrepresentation occurs when one person makes a false statement (or otherwise gives a false impression) with the intent to deceive another person.
Trespass
The law recognizes that owners of property have inherent rights, perhaps the most important being the right to the "exclusive" use of their property. A defendant will be liable for trespass if he or she enters the plaintiff's property without the plaintiff's consent and interferes with the landowner's exclusive right to use the land. To prove the tort of trespass, you must demonstrate one of the following:
- A person intentionally entered your property, without permission.
- A person remained on your property without the continued permission to be there, even if he or she originally entered the property with your permission.
- A person placed an object on (or refuses to remove an object from) your land without permission.
Note that the term "trespass" refers only to intentional interference with another's interest in property. If someone accidentally enters your land, this is generally not considered trespass. For example, a burglar who intentionally enters someone's home commits trespass. On the other hand, if you have an unexpected epileptic seizure while driving your car and end up driving across someone else's lawn - causing damage to the property - you are not liable for trespass.
Trespass to Chattels
"Chattel" refers to items of personal property such as a car, pet, or jewelry. A wrongdoer commits trespass to chattel if he or she intentionally possesses someone else's property without their consent - even if for only a brief period of time. Courts require that some sort of actual harm results from the trespass to chattel. For example, if your friend takes your new car for a joy ride without your authorization and during the course of the ride he or she dents the back fender, your friend has committed a trespass to chattel.
Conversion
Conversion is an intentional interference with another's possession or ownership of property that is significant enough such that the interfering party is required to pay for the property's full value. For example, if a neighbor borrows your lawnmower but never returns it despite your requests for the property, your neighbor will be liable to pay you damages under the legal theory of conversion. |
