An intentional tort is defined as when a person acts wrongly and actually intends wrongdoing to another. The best way to determine if you were injured in an altercation in which you were not involved, you may need to seek legal assistance. There are a number of intentional torts that could possibly warrant monetary damages for the victim. The torts are as follows:
- False Imprisonment: The technical definition of false imprisonment is “confinement without legal authority.” Generally, no one is allowed to restrict another person’s movement against her will. There are two major exceptions to this. Police generally have authority to detain people they reasonably suspect of crimes. The other exception is called the “shopkeeper’s privilege,” which allows shopkeepers to keep people they suspect of shoplifting for a reasonable amount of time.
- Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress: This is a particularly difficult tort to prove in court. In order to prove a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff has to prove that someone else engaged in extreme or outrageous conduct, with the intent of frightening someone else, and caused severe emotional distress or bodily harm.
- Fraud: This is the legal term for lying to someone. In order to succeed in a suit for fraud, plaintiffs generally have to prove that the speaker knew that he was saying something false, that the other person would believe him, that the other person would rely on that information, and that the other person would be harmed by relying on this information.
- Invasion of Privacy: The exact nature of invasion of privacy varies by state, but there are generally f our types of invasions of privacy. Invasion of solitude, in which someone interferes with someone else’s right to be left alone; Public disclosure of private facts; False light, in which someone publishes not true, but not defamatory facts about someone else; and appropriation, which is the unauthorized use of someone else’s likeness for profit.
- Trespass: Trespass comes in two forms: trespass to land, and trespass to chattel, or personal property. In either case, trespass means using the property without permission of the owner.
For example, if you are injured in a bar fight where you are a patron you may need to seek assistance from an attorney. The establishment has a duty to its patrons to provide a safe environment and has an obligation to move as swiftly as possible if an incident ensues. If you or someone you know needs assistance, you should seek the assistance of an attorney to locate and protect your rights. Notifying a skilled attorney, like a personal injury attorney Dekalb County GA relies on, would be a step in the right direction.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into personal injury and torts.