Definition:
Most tort cases involve negligence, that is, that a defendant unintentionally did something that hurt a plaintiff. An intentional tort, as you may surmise, is when the defendant purposely hurt a plaintiff. The best example of an intentional tort is battery.
The Controversy:
Few insurance policies cover intentional torts such as battery. Here's a real-life example: A 90-year-old woman was forcibly restrained in a wheelchair at a nursing home, and an orderly punched the woman several times in the face, breaking several bones and putting her in the hospital.
The only way the nursing home's insurance policy would cover this incident is if the plaintiff proved that the nursing home was negligent in hiring, supervising, or retaining this orderly. Otherwise, the insurance policy wouldn't cover a jury verdict, and for all practical intents and purposes, that meant the family would get little or no money because nursing homes generally don't have many assets.
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