Litigation Lawyers in Clinton

A "tort" in Clinton, South Carolina is essentially any legally-recognized harm for which the victim is legally entitled to pursue compensation from the perpetrator.

Basically, any bad act in Clinton, South Carolina that gives you the legal right to sue the person who committed the act, is a tort. Your particular right to sue is called a "cause of action."

Statutes and appellate court rulings in Clinton, South Carolina recognize a very massive number of different torts. However, most of these torts are largely relics of history, and are no longer litigated very frequently, if at all. There are only a few that the average person has a decent chance of dealing with at least once in their lives. They include, but aren't limited to, negligence, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and battery.

Types of Torts in Clinton, South Carolina

Negligence: In Clinton, South Carolina, negligence is the most often-litigated tort. It is defined as a failure to act (in any situation) with a reasonable level of care, and causing harm as a result of that carelessness. For instance, if a store that's open to the public fails to remove ice from its front entrance, or put up any kind of warning, even though it knows that the ice is there, it is not exercising reasonable care. If anyone is injured as a result, the store owner will likely be required to compensate them for their injuries. This is, obviously, just an example.

Fraud: Fraud in Clinton, South Carolina is another fairly frequent tort. It is a deliberate misrepresentation made for personal gain, at the expense of another. It usually 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.

Battery: Battery is defined by the law of Clinton, South Carolina as any contact by one person, with the body of another, which is offensive or harmful. Any conduct that causes physical injury, pain, or emotional distress is battery. Also, you do not need to really touch a person with your own body to commit battery - simply directing harmful contact (say, by throwing a rock) toward another person is sufficient to create liability for battery. Battery can also arise from "offensive" contact, which is basically any physical contact that violates one's sense of personal dignity constitutes battery, and the victim could technically sue over it. Nonetheless, in most cases like that, the plaintiff hasn't sustained any real harm, and will only be able to recover nominal damages, which would be far, far less than the cost of filing a lawsuit.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: Intentional infliction of emotional distress, or IIED, is a relatively new tort in Clinton, South Carolina. It is committed when someone deliberately causes emotional distress or trauma to another person by engaging in outrageous conduct, with the intent of causing such distress. Note that the defendant does not need to cause physical injuries to the plaintiff to be liable for IIED, but the plaintiff does have to produce evidence that they sustained emotional distress. This evidence normally comes in the form of a report from a psychiatrist who evaluated the plaintiff's mental condition.

How Can A Clinton, South Carolina Tort Lawyer Help?

If you believe that you've been the victim of a tort in Clinton, South Carolina, you have a right to go to court and try to prove your case. On the other hand, if you find that you are being sued for a tort, and believe that you aren't accountable, you have every right to defend yourself in court.

In either of those situations, you will almost definitely benefit from the counsel of a competent tort lawyer in Clinton, South Carolina. In addition to improving your chances of winning your case, should it go to trial, a seasoned lawyer will also make every effort to prevent the issue from going to trial in the first place, by attempting to negotiate a settlement with the other side that's acceptable to both parties.