Litigation Lawyers in Hazel Park

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

When a tort is committed in Hazel Park, Michigan, thereby giving the victim the legal right to sue the person who allegedly harmed them, the victim's right to sue is identified as a "cause of action."

The law in Hazel Park, Michigan recognizes dozens of different torts. Some of them are fairly obscure, and don't come up often, and are largely relics of the common law. The torts that a person is most likely to deal with at some point in his or her life are negligence, fraud, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Types of Torts in Hazel Park, Michigan

Negligence: This is by far the tort that is most frequently dealt with in the courts of Hazel Park, Michigan. Put simply, negligence is a failure to exercise a reasonable amount of care, and causing harm to someone as a result. For instance, driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit is obviously very careless. So, if you are driving that fast, and your speed causes you to get into an accident that harms someone else (either their body or their property), you have committed negligence, and will be required to compensate the victim for the harm that you caused. You should know, however, that this is just an noticeable example, and there are a practically infinite number of situations in which a negligence lawsuit can arise.

Fraud: Fraud is an intentional tort, unlike negligence. It is also dealt with fairly often by courts in Hazel Park, Michigan. Fraud is a lie that one person tells to another, with the intent to harm the other person, typically by inducing them to give money or property to the person committing the fraud. Fraud can occur in a wide variety of different contexts. For example, suppose a jeweler tries to sell a fake diamond to a customer, by passing it off as the real thing. If the customer believes the jeweler's lie, and bases his buying decision on it, the jeweler has committed fraud. If the customer discovers this fraud, he will be able to sue the jeweler, and recover, at the very least, the difference between the value of the fake diamond, and what he paid for it.

Battery: Battery in Hazel Park, Michigan is defined as any harmful or offensive contact with the person of another, without the victim's consent. Punching someone in the face would qualify as battery, as would essentially any unwanted physical contact, particularly of a sexual nature. It can also occur when a doctor operates on a body part without the patient's consent.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: Intentional infliction of emotional distress, also known as IIED, was not recognized in Hazel Park, Michigan 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 Hazel Park, Michigan Tort Lawyer Help?

If someone has committed a tort against in you Hazel Park, Michigan, you have a legal authority 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 Hazel Park, Michigan 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.