Litigation Lawyers in Crawfordsville

A "tort" is defined in Crawfordsville, Indiana as a legal wrong, not criminal in nature, for which the law provides compensation to the victim.

Basically, a tort in Crawfordsville, Indiana is any wrongful action committed by one person against another, which gives the victim of the wrongdoing the legal right to sue the wrongdoer. This is identified as a "cause of action."

Crawfordsville, Indiana's laws recognize many different torts. However, the civil litigation system only deals with a few of these dozens of torts with any frequency. While the most obscure torts are occasionally litigated, there are only a small amount that the average person is likely to deal with (either as a plaintiff or defendant) at some point in their lives. They include fraud, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery.

Types of Torts in Crawfordsville, Indiana

Negligence: Negligence is the most frequently-litigated tort in Crawfordsville, Indiana's civil litigation system. Negligence occurs when somebody does not exercise the level of care that a "reasonable person" would exercise in a similar situation, and causes an injury as a direct result. As an example, most people know that running a stop sign at high speed is very careless, and no reasonable person would be expected to do such a thing. Doing so clearly falls below the ordinary standard of care. So, if a person runs a stop sign at high speed, and hits another car, causing injuries and property damage, they will be liable to the person they harmed for the cost of whatever harm they caused.

Fraud: Fraud in Crawfordsville, Indiana is another fairly typical tort. It is a deliberate misrepresentation made for personal gain, at the expense of another. It normally involves selling a product to a person, while lying about the product's nature. If the buyer relies on the false information in making their purchasing decision, they are a victim of fraud, and can sue the person who defrauded them to recover their losses.

element of battery is pretty straightforward: if you engage in physical contact with another that causes pain and/or injury, you've committed battery. It's important to note that the contact does not need to be harmful to amount to battery - it can also be offensive. What constitutes "offensive" contact is largely subjective, and unless the conduct is truly sleazy (unwanted sexual contact, for example), a battery lawsuit is pretty unlikely to result. One of the more severe forms of battery can occur when a patient is in surgery, and the surgeon, for whatever reason, operates on the wrong body part. Because the patient did not consent to this contact, the surgeon has committed a severe form of battery.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: Intentional infliction of emotional distress, also known as IIED, was not recognized in Crawfordsville, Indiana as a valid tort until the early to mid 20th Century. However, since it became available as a cause of action, it has become one of the most common sources of civil litigation in the tort context. IIED is committed when a person engages in "outrageous" conduct towards another person, with actual intent of causing mental trauma or distress, and then truly causes the intended result. Physical injuries are not necessary to prove IIED, but if the emotional trauma is so severe that it causes physical symptoms (such as a heart attack, in the most extreme cases), the defendant will be liable for them, as well.

How Can A Crawfordsville, Indiana Tort Lawyer Help?

If someone has committed a tort against in you Crawfordsville, Indiana, you have a legal right to seek compensation. Moreover, if someone has sued you, alleging that you committed a tort, you have a right to mount a legal defense.

In either case, a Crawfordsville, Indiana tort lawyer will be able to advise you of your rights, and ensure that you have the best possible chance of prevailing in your case.