October 22, 2025 | Personal Injury
If you have been hurt in an accident, it is important to understand your legal options for recovering compensation for your injuries. Both tort law and personal injury law allow you to get compensation for your losses, but there are some differences between the two.
Tort law covers a wider range of civil wrongs, while personal injury law focuses more specifically on an individual being harmed by another’s conduct. Keep reading below to learn the key differences between tort law and personal injury law.
What Is Tort Law?
A tort is an act or omission that causes some harm or injury to another person or their property. Tort law is a category of civil law that deals with these wrongdoings and the effects of that conduct on the victim. Tort law is used to compensate the victim for their losses, and the goal of the civil court system is to make the victim whole again.
The are three main types of torts:
- Intentional torts: These are intentional acts that cause harm to the victim, such as assault, battery, or defamation.
- Negligent torts: These types of torts cause harm to the victim because of careless behavior. Some common examples include car accidents, motorcycle accidents, or slip and fall accidents.
- Strict liability torts: Strict liability occurs when the wrongdoer is held responsible for any damages they cause, even when no misconduct was involved. This includes things like ultrahazardous activities, dog bites, or product liability.
Proving a tort claim requires showing evidence to support your case. You must prove your case by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that you must show that your version of the facts is more likely true than not. Put another way, you must have just enough evidence to tip the scales in your favor.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law is a subset of tort law. All personal injuries are torts, but not all torts are personal injuries. Personal injury law deals with cases when an individual has suffered some physical or emotional harm due to the conduct of another. Most personal injury claims are based on negligence.
Proving a personal injury claim requires showing:
- Duty of care: You must show that the defendant had a legal obligation to avoid injury. The specific conduct required varies according to the circumstances. For instance, when someone drives a car, they owe others a duty of care to operate their car in a safe and reasonable manner.
- Breach of duty: You must show that the defendant failed to uphold the standard of care that was required in the situation. This means that they acted outside the manner in which a reasonable person would have acted under the circumstances. If you decide to text and drive, you have breached the duty of care owed to others on the road.
- Causation: Your injuries must be a direct and foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s behavior. You must show that you would not have suffered any injuries if not for the conduct of the defendant.
- Damages: You must have suffered some harm or loss as a result of the defendant’s actions. This may include physical injuries, medical bills, emotional distress, lost wages, and more.
Kentucky personal injury law allows injured victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages. This means that they can recover compensation for both their financial losses as well as their pain and suffering.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
There are many types of cases that may qualify as personal injury cases.
Some of the most common types of personal injury cases include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Dog bites
Every personal injury case is unique, and each case must be evaluated based on its unique factors. However, the rules that apply to personal injury cases are quite similar across most types of these claims.
Tort Law vs. Personal Injury Law: Key Differences
The main difference to remember between tort law and personal injury law is that tort law is much broader. Tort law covers all civil wrongs involving harm to a person or property. However, personal injury law is a smaller subset of tort law. Personal injury law involves situations where a person has suffered physical or emotional harm because of another’s conduct.
Contact the Lexington Personal Injury Attorneys at Minner Vines Injury Lawyers, PLLC for Help Today
If you’ve been injured by someone else’s negligence, Minner Vines Injury Lawyers, PLLC is here to help. We help accident victims get the recovery they deserve. Contact us today for a free consultation with a Lexington personal injury Lawyer.
