Idaho Tort Laws

Torts are wrongful actions or failures to act that harm someone. If you are harmed by a tort, you have the right to sue the responsible party for damages. Personal injury is a narrower concept and refers to situations where an individual is physically or emotionally injured due to a person’s negligent or intentional actions. 

Plaintiffs in Idaho seeking compensation for such injuries have to file a claim before the civil courts. However, in some cases, the process of submitting a tort claim is different, especially if there are numerous victims. This situation is known as a mass tort claim.

Idahoans can find in this article information about tort laws in the Gem State. It also provides resources for plaintiffs seeking assistance regarding their cases. 

Basic Tort Categories in Idaho

Negligent Torts

Negligent torts refer to actions that result in injuries caused by the failure to demonstrate reasonable care. A person does or does not do something — like drive on the road recklessly or diagnose a medical condition belatedly — that other sensible people would otherwise do or not do.

For instance, an Ada County jury found an emergency medicine provider liable for over $13.5 million in damages. The healthcare company in question was accused of failing to care for the patient for hours despite signs of physical deterioration. Eventually, treatment came. The patient, however, suffered irreversible brain damage. 

To establish a negligent tort claim, the plaintiff needs to prove four elements. These are: 

• Duty. Plaintiffs must prove that they are owed a standard of care from the defendant. 

• Breach. Plaintiffs must prove that the defendant did not meet the standard of care expected by the former. 

• Causation. Plaintiffs must prove that the defendant’s breach caused injuries, like irreversible brain damage.  

• Damages. Ultimately, plaintiffs must prove that they suffered damages caused by the breach. Medical expenses are one example of damages. 

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts refer to actions that hurt people deliberately. Some examples include:

• Battery. Causing bodily harm to a person. 

• Assault. Attempting to cause bodily harm. 

• Fraud. Lying to someone to gain something or deprive them of their legal rights. 

Defamation is another example of an intentional tort. It involves knowingly saying or writing about a person or entity in a way that harms them. 

For instance, an activist must pay over $12 million in damages for falsely claiming that a hospital engaged in child trafficking. This disinformation led to a lockdown — causing hundreds of appointments to be canceled — as protesters surrounded the medical complex. 

Strict Liability Torts

In strict liability torts, you do not need to prove that the other party was at fault. These torts are often seen in product liability cases. In such instances, plaintiffs are not required to show that the seller or manufacturer was negligent, only that their product was defective and caused injuries. 

An item can be defective not just because it was manufactured incorrectly but also because it was marketed incorrectly. 

In one case, an Idaho-based manufacturer of Kratom — a dietary supplement — was ordered to pay over $4.6 million in damages for causing the death of a South Florida nurse. The plaintiffs alleged that the manufacturer failed to provide information about the health risks related to the consumption of Kratom. 

Other Tort Categories in Idaho

Beyond negligent, intentional, and strict liability torts, other categories carry their own legal rules and nuances. 

Economic torts, also known as business torts, refer to actions that lead to financial losses. A real estate seller may conceal flaws in a property’s construction, for example. 

Nuisances, meanwhile, refer to actions where individuals or entities unreasonably interfere with the rights of a private individual or the general public.

For example, in December 2023, the Idaho Falls City Council declared a railroad property a public nuisance. The premises in question contain garbage, bulky waste, and litter, causing considerable health risks and disturbance to the local community. 

Tort vs. Crime in Idaho

Torts can sometimes be mistaken for crimes. However, there is a difference between the two. 

Torts are actions that involve disputes between individuals or entities. As such, plaintiffs obtain compensation for their injuries from a civil court. They also have to prove that the liable party is responsible for incurred injuries. A civil case does not usually result in penalties like community service for the defendant. 

Fraud is an example of an act that can result in civil damages. In one case, an unlicensed contractor who performed flooring installation and house painting for some Meridian residents saw nine small claims judgments against him from former customers. These homeowners alleged that the contractor promised quality work but did not deliver it.

Crimes are actions that involve offenses against society. In criminal cases, the state has the burden of proving that the accused individual committed the crime. If convicted, the accused faces various penalties, including spending days in prison or incurring fines. 

A person found guilty of fraud can also face such penalties. In one incident, a Middleton resident was sentenced to 90 days of jail time in Ada County and seven years on probation. These consequences were imposed due to Medicaid fraud. 

Mass Torts in Idaho

Mass torts refer to actions that cause harm to numerous people. As such, a mass tort claim pertains to a lawsuit that involves multiple plaintiffs against one or more defendants. 

Different circumstances may lead to mass tort claims. These include:

• Environmental damage. Private corporations or governmental entities might use or sell products that harm ecosystems. A Germany-based biomedical sciences company, as an example, settled a $400-million agreement involving a herbicide that led to crop yield damage for U.S. farmers. 

• Product liability. Manufacturers of medical devices, snacks, or pharmaceutical drugs may fail to disclose information about risks associated with their products. In one incident, a Connecticut-based manufacturer settled a case worth $650 million involving a drug that aims to prevent strokes but causes life-threatening bleeding. 

• Toxic substance exposure. The use of various chemicals, like asbestos, can lead to long-term health deterioration. For instance, a Minnesota-based manufacturer agreed to a $10.3 billion settlement for its role in the spread of forever chemicals across water systems throughout the country. 

These claims are often filed against manufacturers of defective consumer products. Talcum powder, earplug, vaginal mesh, or IVC filter manufacturers might fail to disclose to the public the risks associated with their products. 

Mass tort claims can also be filed against governmental entities and private corporations for environmental damage. In one case, 134 farmers in Idaho sued the Bureau of Land Management and a herbicide manufacturer for causing crops like potatoes and sugar beets to fail. 

Another example of potential defendants in mass tort claims includes tech companies. In one case, Idaho joined 32 other states that submitted a lawsuit alleging that one company knew about the psychological damage its products inflict on teenagers. 

Since the damage in question was experienced by numerous parties, mass tort claims are used to recover compensation from liable parties. These plaintiffs can pool their resources and streamline the litigation process. Through this consolidation, mass tort claims help the aggrieved parties hold those responsible accountable at a scale larger than one plaintiff can achieve.

Mass Torts vs. Class Actions

Mass tort claims may, at first glance, look like class-action lawsuits since both involve a large number of plaintiffs. However, there are key differences. These are:

There are various examples of class-action lawsuits. For instance, an entertainment company that operates an on-demand streaming service was accused of sharing personal data with third-party sites without consent from users, including those from Idaho. The company settled for $16 million. Affected users can claim a $30 payment online. 

The Mass Tort Process

There are different stages in a mass tort claim. These are: 

• Assessing records. Lawyers look at various evidence, including statements from other plaintiffs, to determine whether the mass tort claim is valid. 

• Identifying consistencies. Lawyers uncover similarities with the injuries plaintiffs suffered from defendants. In a case involving the application of herbicide, representatives of the plaintiff may point to crop damage as an identical factor that they experienced. 

• Filing in federal courts. Lawyers submit a claim to the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation, or JPML, to start the process of designating a claim as a mass tort lawsuit. Once this is done, the judges consolidate and transfer individual claims to a certain federal court. 

• Holding bellwether trials. Lawyers represent clients in these proceedings, typically involving a handful of cases selected by the court to observe how a jury views mass tort claims.

• Reaching settlements. If the bellwether trials were unfavorable on their end, the defendants may push for a settlement to avoid further litigation costs. 

Despite more than a million lawsuits combined into multidistrict litigation, only around 1% of these cases reach trial. Given this, one may obtain the services of an experienced Idaho attorney to guide them throughout the mass tort claims process. 

Idaho Tort Liability Insurance Requirements

Businesses, especially those whose products or services affect a significant number of consumers, face the risk of tort liability. Tort liability insurance can help protect your business from financial losses if someone sues you.

The policy covers the costs of injuries from negligent, intentional, or strict liability. With this solution, companies can manage expenses related to mass tort lawsuits, like legal fees. 

There are other requirements present in the state. Idaho personal injury laws require businesses to possess workers’ compensation insurance. This policy allows injured employees access to benefits related to medical treatments and lost wages. 

Besides policies aimed at covering work-related injuries, companies must also purchase commercial auto insurance. This policy is applicable to businesses that own vehicles.  

The Statute of Limitations for Tort Cases in Idaho

Idaho tort laws provide two years for plaintiffs seeking damages for their injuries from defendants. In other words, individuals injured because of someone’s negligence must press claims against liable parties within two years from the day of the accident. This two-year deadline also applies in wrongful death cases. 

Plaintiffs injured because of medical malpractice also have two years to file a claim. In some cases, however, the deadline is different. For instance, if the patient incurred injuries from a foreign object left inside their body, they can submit a claim a year after such injuries were or should have been discovered. 

There are also other things to note. The deadline for filing product liability claims, which make up a significant portion of mass tort lawsuits, is two years. Keep in mind that, in addition to the two-year rule, there is a 10-year statute of repose in Idaho. This means a product liability claim cannot be filed more than ten years after the product was delivered to the plaintiff.

Some exceptions to the 10-year rule exist, though. These include: 

• If the product seller promises that the product is still safe after 10 years. 

• If the product seller has intentionally lied about the product.

• If the injury comes from long-term exposure to the product.

How Much Can Someone Sue in a Tort Case in Idaho?

There are no caps on economic damages in the Gem State. This means there are no limits on the compensation plaintiffs may obtain for expenses like medical bills, lost earnings, and repair costs. 

However, there are caps on non-economic damages. Plaintiffs seeking recompense for non-monetary losses, including emotional distress and loss of companionship, face a $250,000 limit. 

Punitive damages are also capped. Courts typically award such damages to plaintiffs to punish defendants for outrageous, malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent conduct. State law limits these to the larger of either $250,000 or three times that of compensatory damages, which are a combination of economic and non-economic damages.

Some of these laws were brought about by lawmakers as forms of tort reform. Essentially, attempts were made to limit the compensation plaintiffs receive from tort cases. These reforms were implemented for reasons like decreasing liability insurance rates. One example is the $250,000 cap on non-economic damages, which was passed into law by the Idaho legislature in 2003. 

Note that there are some exceptions to these caps. For instance, in cases involving tort claims against governmental entities, the limit is $500,000 per accident. This cap increases if the entity purchases liability insurance that covers a higher limit. 

Another important thing to remember is the modified comparative fault system that Idaho courts follow. If the plaintiff in a tort case is 50% or more responsible for their injuries, they cannot recover compensation. 

Since victims in mass tort claims are seen as individual plaintiffs, the value of their damages is different from that of other claimants. The compensation owed depends on how severe the injuries are. For instance, plaintiffs who sustained Parkinson’s disease because of exposure to a herbicide face the burden of managing various costs, including physical therapy bills and long-term nursing care expenses. 

Understanding how compensation works in mass tort settlements and the average value one can receive in certain cases is crucial to obtaining a fair amount of damages. 

Other Legal Remedies in Tort Cases in Idaho

Besides damages, Idaho plaintiffs can obtain other judicial remedies. These include:

• Injunctions. These are court orders that either require a defendant to do something or restrict them from doing so. For example, after inspections determined that the manufactured food products failed safety requirements, a California-based food company was slapped with an injunction. This court order prevents the company from making and selling the questionable food items.

• Restitutions. This allows plaintiffs to recover amounts that depend on how much the defendant gained. For instance, a Meridian agent who pleaded guilty to insurance fraud after receiving over $5,900 in commissions from false applications must pay restitution of over $5,900 to an insurance company.

Resources for Tort Victims in Idaho

Idaho Office of the Attorney General

The Idaho Office of the Attorney General represents state agencies and boards. It also protects consumers from deceptive and misleading businesses. Idahoans seeking to file a consumer complaint may fill out and submit an online form. Individuals can also find information regarding how Idaho benefited from the multi-billion dollar opioid settlement on the agency’s website. For inquiries to the office, one may call 208-334-2400. 

Idaho State Bar

The Idaho State Bar grants the privilege of practicing law to attorneys throughout the Gem State. It also manages programs that help advance the administration of justice. One of these is the Client Assistance Fund, which allows Idahoans to recover compensation for losses caused by their dishonest lawyers. For inquiries to the state bar, call 208-334-4500.

Idaho Secretary of State

The Idaho Secretary of State accepts tort claims against the Gem State. Individuals who feel aggrieved by state agencies may fill out and submit a Tort Claim Form. Idahoans can also find information on topics like new voter registration laws. For inquiries to the state agency, call 208-334-2301.