Tort law in Florida
Tort law in Florida relates to any civil case where the party bringing the action is seeking compensation for damages. Torts are just another word for any civil wrong that causes harm. Generally the harm is some sort of personal injury and the victim of the tort is seeking financial damages because of that injury. Damages can include lost wages, mental and physical pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and medical expenses. A party bringing a civil lawsuit seeks damages that have occurred in the past and any damages that are reasonably certain to occur in the future. In a personal injury case a lawsuit is generally not completed until the injured party has reached maximum medical improvement.
This is because future damages are set by the jury at the time of the trial. If the injured party has not reached maximum medical improvement, there is a risk that unanticipated damages will occur in the future and compensation for those damages would be lost.
Torts include all types of negligence, including medical and legal negligence, defective product litigation against the manufacturer of a product which has been manufactured or designed improperly, assault and battery, libel or slander, trespass, intentional infliction of emotional distress and many others.
Torts can be caused by intentional wrongdoing, negligence or strict liability. Strict liability generally applies to the manufacture of a defective product.
The law of torts differs from state to state.
Florida, like most other states, is a common law state (meaning that judges are required to follow precedent as a result of decisions by higher courts). Thus, a trial court judge in Florida is required to follow the appellate decisions of appeals courts as well as the Supreme Court of Florida and the Supreme Court of the United States. Judges are also required to follow statutes passed by the Legislature and federal laws passed by Congress.
Lawyers who handle tort cases do so on a contingency fee basis meaning they take a percentage of recovery and advance all costs rather than being paid on an hourly basis.