Most Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases in Pennsylvania arise out of unintentional Negligent conduct. However, a wrongdoer can also be held legally liable for compensating an injury victim even if the conduct was Intentional or Criminal. The bad actor is liable for the harm caused by an Intentional or Criminal act, but the challenge is collecting the damages since insurance usually will not cover Intentional or Criminal conduct.

Legal Liability for Intentional Torts

A “Tort” is a wrongful act or omission that leads to legal liability for resulting harm (medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, disability). A Tort can arise out of Negligence – a careless act or omission, Or it can arise out of an Intentional Act like Murder, Assault or Rape.

Intentional Torts are arguably much worse than Negligence. Such wrongs result from someone who intends to cause the harm, rather than someone who was just careless. Common Intentional Torts include Murder (intentional killing) Assault (intentional harmful touching) or even Sex Crimes like Rape.

In addition to deserving Compensatory Damages to make up for the Physical and Emotional Harm (medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering), victims of Intentional Torts can also seek Punitive Damages to punish Outrageous behavior and deter the Defendant from repeating the act.

Collection Challenges from Insurance Exclusions for Intentional or Criminal Acts

Despite Intentional Torts being strong cases, it’s often impractical to pursue them in Court because Liability Insurance Policies often exclude insurance coverage for Intentional or Criminal Acts.

If there is no Insurance, then the only way it makes sense to pursue an Intentional Tort is if the Defendant has Assets that can be pursued after the case is won or if someone else is jointly liable with the Defendant. If the Defendant has no assets, and no one else was culpable (like his employer or someone else responsible for preventing the harm), then pursuing a Lawsuit would be like trying to get blood from a stone.

The Importance of Experienced Legal Counsel

Since pursuing Intentional Torts can be fruitful because of serious injuries and egregious facts, but challenging because of Insurance Exclusions, it’s important to have your case thoroughly examined by an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer who regularly pursues Intentional Tort cases.

You need to have a lawyer who will investigate all possible sources of insurance and assets to make sure that the victims of the Intentional Act or Crime receives Justice.

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury Lawyer with the Chester County based Pennsylvania law firm MacElree Harvey. For nearly 30 years, Tim has been helping victims of Negligence and Intentional Torts understand their legal rights and receive fair compensation. Tim has law offices in West Chester and Kennett Square Pennsylvania and can be reached at 610-840-0124 or trayne@macelree.com or you can check out his website at www.TimRayneLaw.com.

Tim Rayne has experience helping victims of Intentional Torts including Murder, Assault, Theft and Sex Crimes.