In the old days, tort law (the fancy lawyer word for personal injury law) was limited to victims of crimes. Over the years tort law expanded to protect more of society. As a community we have a right to expect everybody to act safely. To enforce this, our legal system provides a method to hold wrongdoers accountable.

The purposes behind a personal injury lawsuit (or tort law) is twofold:

1. Compensation. As Americans, we believe in personal responsibility. We believe in righting a wrong. When a kid breaks a window, the parents teaches the kid to go apologize and pay to fix the window. Personal injury lawsuits allow a victim to force a wrongdoer (through their insurance company) to pay for their damages, like medical bills, lost wages from missed work, and pain and suffering.

2. Deterrence. Lawsuits make our community safer by discouraging dangerous behavior. For example, when a business has something dangerous on their property, having to pay for injuring somebody encourages the business owner to fix the problem. Nobody likes a lawsuit - but as a society we value safety.