The short answer is insurance coverage. Most insurance covers negligence claims but does not cover intentional tort claims. As a result, there is often no insurance money to pay on an intentional tort claim. As a rule, insurance is designed to protect a victim of an accident or mistake. If you are injured because of someone’s intentional act, finding insurance coverage is often difficult.
The more common intentional torts include claims such as battery, assault, false imprisonment, trespass, various privacy torts, and defamation. Often these non-insured intentional torts have an insured negligence component. For example, the bouncer that intentionally and wrongly assaults a bar patron may also have been negligently trained by the owner of the bar. Drunk driving injuries also have a blend of negligent driving and intentional consumption of alcohol. Child injury claims often have an intentional injury to a child and a negligent failure to supervise childcare providers.
Personal injuries are often caused by actions that can be a blend of intentional tort and negligence claims. Because these claims are some of the most nuanced and difficult to handle correctly, it is important that your personal injury attorney understands the elements of each claim and pursues the best avenue of recovery for your case.
