Glossary
What is a tort?
A wrong that causes harm to someone and lets them sue for compensation. A car-crash injury claim is a tort claim.
General information, not legal advice. Talk to a licensed attorney in your state.
Quick answer
A tort is a civil wrong: an act or failure to act that causes harm to someone else and lets the injured person sue for compensation. Tort law is separate from criminal law and from contract law. A car crash injury claim is a tort claim.
In a car accident claim#
Torts come in three broad kinds. Most crash claims are based on Negligence. Failing to use the care a reasonable person would use in the same situation, such as running a red light or texting while driving. Glossary, a failure to use reasonable care, such as following too closely or texting while driving. Intentional torts, such as deliberately ramming another car, are rarer. Strict liability, which does not depend on carelessness, applies in narrow situations.
To win a negligence claim, the injured person generally has to show the other driver owed a Duty of care. The legal obligation to act with reasonable care toward others. Every driver owes it to everyone else on the road. Glossary, broke it, and caused the injury, and that real losses resulted. Those losses are the Damages. The money a court can award, or a settlement pays, to make up for losses caused by someone else's wrong. Glossary: medical bills, lost pay, car repairs and pain and suffering. The guide to types of damages explains each kind, and the claim process guide shows how a tort claim usually moves from insurance claim to settlement or lawsuit.
The same crash can lead to a criminal case too, for example for drunk driving. The criminal case punishes the offense; the tort claim pays the injured person.
Example#
Related terms#
Questions people ask
What is a tort claims act?
A tort claims act is a law that lets people bring tort claims against a government, which otherwise could not be sued. These laws usually set special notice rules, deadlines and limits on damages.
Is a car accident a tort or a crime?
It can be both. Most crashes lead only to a tort claim for compensation. A crash that involves a crime, such as drunk driving or leaving the scene, can also lead to a criminal case.
Sources
- Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, Tort — meaning, the main kinds of torts and their purposes
- United States Courts, Glossary of legal terms — a civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person
Last reviewed October 29, 2026 by the Accident Claim Facts editorial team. Found an error? Tell us.
Keep reading
- GlossaryGlossaryShort, plain-English definitions of the legal and insurance terms that come up after a crash, each with an example, related terms and the sources behind it.
- Money and compensationTypes of damagesCar accident damages fall into three groups: economic losses with a bill or paycheck behind them, non-economic harm such as pain, and rare punitive damages…
- The claim processThe claim processFrom the police report and medical records to insurer calls, the demand letter, negotiation, a lawsuit and trial, with the deadlines that apply at each stage.
- The claim processFiling a lawsuitWhy some car accident claims become lawsuits, the deadline that controls everything, the stages from complaint to trial, how rarely cases reach a verdict, and…
- GlossaryInsurance adjusterThe insurance company employee who investigates a claim, decides what the policy covers and negotiates payment.
- GlossaryWorkers' compensationState insurance systems that pay medical care and part of lost wages to workers hurt on the job, usually whoever was at fault.