Rhode Island Tort Laws

In 2022, more than 4,500 civil tort cases were filed in the Superior Court of Rhode Island, while over 2,000 were closed during the same year. A tort is the legal term for an act that causes harm or injury to a person. It can be in the form of personal injury or losses related to real estate, business interests, or personal property, among others.

One instance of tort in Rhode Island involved a 41-year-old man suffering from severe stomach pain. The first hospital he went to gave him pain medicine and discharged him after nine days. However, because the pain persisted, he went to a different hospital, where he had multiple surgeries. He filed a medical negligence lawsuit against the first hospital that treated him for failing to correctly identify his medical condition. The settlement he was able to obtain was $7 million.

While the man was able to get a favorable outcome, some victims of torts — including mass torts — may not have had the same luck. For this reason, it is all the more important to learn about Rhode Island tort laws, which are discussed in this article. In addition to explaining the legal concepts concerning the subject, this guide also lists various options available to victims to help them obtain justice.

Basic Tort Categories in Rhode Island

Negligent Torts

Negligence refers to a person’s inability to act with the level of caution expected of them in a given situation. Negligent behavior can pertain to an individual’s acts or inactions. Some types of torts resulting from negligence are medical malpractice, motor vehicle collisions, and slip-and-fall accidents.

In Rhode Island, it is typically necessary to prove the existence of these components to establish negligence:

• The defendant’s duty of care to the plaintiff.

• The defendant’s violation of this legal duty.

• The plaintiff’s injury directly resulting from the defendant’s actions.

• The plaintiff’s incurred damages due to their injury.

Intentional Torts

An intentional tort is a civil wrongdoing done with deliberate and improper conduct. This kind of purposeful action by a party could cause harm or injury to another person or their property. Some common intentional torts in Rhode Island are:

• Battery.

• Assault.

• False imprisonment.

• Trespassing.

• Infliction of emotional distress.

Strict Liability Torts

Strict liability is when a defendant is held accountable for their actions regardless of their purpose or mental condition at the time of the offense. The following situations could subject a defendant to strict liability under tort laws in Rhode Island:

• An owner of a wild animal that injures another person.

• A person who engages in hazardous activities such as utilizing explosives and transporting volatile chemicals that results in injury.

• A maker or seller of a product that is faulty, unsafe, or harmful.

Other Tort Categories in Rhode Island

The following are other tort categories recognized in Rhode Island:

Nuisances

A nuisance is defined as an activity done by someone or under their control that infringes on the rights of individuals outside their property. Per state law, there are two kinds of nuisances.

A public nuisance occurs when someone interferes with people’s rights within a public or shared space. An instance of a public nuisance is a factory releasing excessive volumes of unpleasant-smelling gas into the city, which gets in the way of people’s daily lives and causes them to get sick.

A private nuisance, meanwhile, occurs when someone else’s actions significantly and unreasonably interfere with another party’s capacity to use and enjoy their own property. One example is when a person is running a noisy generator that even neighbors several streets away can hear.

Economic Torts

Torts arising from business transactions that are likely to cause purely economic harm are referred to as economic or business torts. Fraud, careless misinterpretation, contractual disruptions, interruptions of potential advantages, and harmful lies are a few examples of economic torts.

Tort vs. Crime in Rhode Island

The primary distinction between a crime and a tort in Rhode Island is their nature and way of resolution. Crimes are unlawful actions against the community that are settled through criminal prosecution. Torts, on the other hand, are illegal but noncriminal activities settled through monetary damages.

Nevertheless, state law clarifies that there are cases where a person may be charged with both a tort and a criminal offense. In the same vein, there are instances where a victim may also pursue a civil action to collect damages, regardless of whether the accused person is prosecuted in a criminal court for the offense or not.

Criminal and tort laws also lay out different sets of rights and obligations that offenders and victims have. For instance, although certain criminal records may be expunged or dismissed, tort claimants cannot have their court records expunged as these are neither misdemeanors nor felonies. 

In addition, criminal offenders may face fines, jail time, community service, or similar consequences, while the defendant in a tort case may only have to pay the value of damages that resulted from their actions.

Mass Torts in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, mass tort cases usually arise from one incident or a series of incidents with the same origin that affected a group of people or their property. The total number of claimants in mass tort cases could range from a few dozen to thousands. Large populations can be impacted by mass torts, which is why these are frequently reported in mainstream media and publicized to prospective victims.

Mass tort cases commonly stem from the following:

• Auto defects, such as faulty brakes and defective airbags.

• Faulty medical devices, such as defective hip implants

• Defective or harmful consumer products, like Johnson & Johnson talcum powder and Philips CPAP machines.

• Pharmaceutical drugs linked with increased cancer risks, such as Zantac.

• Exposure to harmful chemicals, including lead, asbestos, and silica dust.

In cases like these, joining a mass tort action instead of pursuing an independent lawsuit against a defendant has several advantages. These include:

• Affordability: The plaintiffs in mass tort cases usually share the legal costs to be paid, which means no single plaintiff has to shoulder the entire amount due.

• Efficiency: Handling similar cases together instead of conducting separate trials can save time and resources.

• Strength in numbers: The chance of having a successful case can increase if several victims unite to oppose a single party since their combined voice is stronger.

• The ability to hire a personal attorney: A plaintiff still has the option to select their own attorney instead of the lawyers recommended by other plaintiffs.

Mass Torts vs. Class Actions

Class actions and mass tort lawsuits are not the same in Rhode Island. While both involve numerous plaintiffs with similar injuries caused by the same thing, they function differently and have different potential outcomes for plaintiffs.

In a class action lawsuit, multiple plaintiffs can collaborate as a single party. According to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the following conditions must be satisfied in order to pursue a class action:

• The group of plaintiffs is so large that it is not practical for everyone to submit a lawsuit.

• There are legal or factual issues that are common to the group of plaintiffs.

• Each party’s claims and defenses are identical to one another.

• The plaintiffs’ representatives fairly reflect the class’s interests.

Meanwhile, in the case of mass torts, plaintiffs do not band together in a single lawsuit. Each has to file a separate case and, when successful, receives a compensation amount based on their own personal losses.

The Mass Tort Process

In Rhode Island, mass tort cases can proceed through the following steps:

1. Examination of Documents

A plaintiff or their lawyer must evaluate several documents to establish whether they have a valid case. These include the plaintiff’s statement or assertion about the damage they have incurred, as well as evidence in the form of medical records.

2. Recognition of Similarities

To build cases that can be grouped under a mass tort action, the attorneys of the plaintiffs involved must find and pinpoint consistent patterns.

3. Submission of Lawsuits in Federal Court

The mass tort cases must be filed together to streamline the process, regardless of where in the country each plaintiff resides. Mass tort cases may be consolidated under a single judge or court in a process known as multi-district litigation.

4. Bellwether Trials

The court can conduct bellwether trials, wherein it tries a few cases before scheduling hearings for each lawsuit. These trials serve as a trial run for judges, juries, and the parties involved, as an indicator of how the other cases could proceed. If the defense wins the bellwether trials, the remaining cases will be dropped and will no longer go through the same process.

5. Settlement Agreement or Court Judgment

Settlement is the final stage in mass tort cases if the parties involved can agree on terms. It is usually in everyone’s best interest to reach a settlement without having to go through trials, which are typically costly and time-consuming. Following a settlement, the court will distribute the damages recovered in accordance with each plaintiff's specific losses.

Meanwhile, if the parties involved are unable to reach a settlement agreement, the case will go to trial. In federal court, the plaintiff’s attorney must make arguments in front of a judge or jury, who will determine the case’s outcome. The plaintiff will be awarded damages if the verdict is in their favor.

Rhode Island Tort Liability Insurance Requirements

It is not required for companies operating in Rhode Island to carry commercial liability insurance, often known as business liability insurance. However, businesses are still encouraged to obtain it to protect them from monetary losses brought on by lawsuits alleging harm or damage done to other individuals.

The kind of business or type of product usually dictates the amount of commercial liability insurance a business must have. For most small enterprises, an adequate insurance amount is between $500,000 and $1 million. Meanwhile, a business should think about increasing its coverage if its line of work involves a lot of public engagement — like in the case of restaurants or retail stores — or is part of a high-risk industry, such as building trades.

A policy usually covers property damage, losses due to a business’ advertising, acts that harm someone’s reputation or rights, bodily injury or physical harm to someone who is not an employee, and defense costs against valid and invalid lawsuits or judgments.

The Statute of Limitations for Tort Cases in Rhode Island

The statute of limitations in Rhode Island pertains to the deadline for submission of tort claims to the appropriate courts. For both government and private personal injury cases, the plaintiff is given three years to pursue legal action. Meanwhile, product liability cases must be submitted within 10 years of the item’s use or consumption.

The following are the other statutes of limitations for civil torts in Rhode Island:

An attempt to bring a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has passed usually results in the dismissal of the claim. There are, however, a few exceptions to the filing deadline. For instance, there is a discovery rule for certain types of cases. Under this, the statute of limitations only starts from the day the harm is discovered or should have been discovered.

As several factors can affect the statute of limitations — including various exclusions, the plaintiff’s mental condition and age, and the specifics of each case — it is advisable to speak with a Rhode Island litigation attorney when pursuing a tort case to be guided accordingly.

How Much Can Someone Sue in a Tort Case in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, a plaintiff can file a tort case with a value typically based on the amount of damages they incurred. The usual award for these damages is monetary compensation, which can fall into these two categories:

• Compensatory damages: These pertain to the losses that the plaintiff has suffered.

  • Medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, and other losses with a concrete monetary value are examples of special or economic damages. 

  • Emotional discomfort and mental anguish are examples of non-economic or general damages, which are losses that cannot be easily quantified in monetary terms.

• Punitive damages: The aim of awarding punitive damages is to both punish the defendant and discourage future similar actions by others. These damages are not usually granted since they are only given in exceptional circumstances involving extreme carelessness or malicious conduct.

Damage Cap

Rhode Island is one of the states that does not have caps or limits on monetary damages in tort lawsuits. In other words, there is no maximum limit to the total amount of money that a plaintiff can recover. The sole limitation on damages in Rhode Island involves wrongful death cases, where plaintiffs are not eligible to obtain punitive damages.

Pure Comparative Negligence Rule

Rhode Island follows the rule of pure comparative negligence in cases where the plaintiff’s own carelessness might have played a role in their injuries. This rule may be utilized to limit or lessen the amount of damages that they may get, as their share of fault in the accident is deducted from their compensation. For example, one will receive a 30% reduction on their compensation if it is determined that they were 30% at fault for their accident.

Other Legal Remedies in Tort Cases in Rhode Island

The term “judicial remedy” refers to a resolution that may be given to the plaintiff in a tort case. In addition to damages, a specific return of property and an injunction are the other two categories of court remedies under tort law.

Specific Return of Property

In this type of legal remedy, the court can order a case’s defendant to return what they stole to the plaintiff. In civil proceedings, the defendant’s gain, not the plaintiff’s loss, is usually used to determine the amount of recovery. Meanwhile, in criminal proceedings, the defendant will be required to pay the full or partial portion of the damages as part of their sentence or as a requirement in their probation.

Injunction

Court orders in the form of injunctions place restrictions on a person’s freedom to use their property. Depending on the situation, courts may use this remedy to change or preserve the status quo. This is especially true in situations where the defendant needs to be stopped to protect the plaintiff from injustice and potential permanent harm.

A person may face contempt of court charges if they disregard an injunction despite having received sufficient notice. For instance, if an individual obtains another person’s property by fraud and a disagreement develops between them, the court has the authority to impose an injunction, preventing the use of the said property until the court issues a final ruling.

Resources for Tort Victims in Rhode Island

Rhode Island Bar Association

The Rhode Island Bar Association has a legal referral service to assist the public in locating a local attorney who can cater to their specific legal concerns. The group also gives qualified low-income Rhode Islanders free legal assistance through its Volunteer Lawyer Program. To be eligible for pro bono aid, one’s income must meet federally controlled guidelines and their case must fall under one of the program's designated legal specialties.

Contact Information
Phone: (401) 421-5740
Fax: (401) 421-2703
Email: info@ribar.com
Address: 41 Sharpe Drive, Cranston, RI 02920

Rhode Island Legal Services

Rhode Island Legal Services helps eligible individuals in Rhode Island. One of its goals is to improve people's economic situation and general well-being by fighting for their legal rights. It also strives to put an end to domestic abuse, encourage self-sufficiency and prevent homelessness, and assist those facing obstacles regarding the civil justice system.

Contact Information
Phone: (401) 274-2652
Fax: (401) 272-5335
Address: 56 Pine Street, Fourth Floor, Providence, RI 02903

The Legal Advocacy Clinic at Roger Williams University

Rhode Island residents may be able to access the services of Roger Williams University’s Legal Advocacy Clinic. Its services are conducted by law students and facilitated by full-time faculty members. It handles cases involving criminal defense, immigration, company startups, expungement, and eviction.

Contact Information
Phone: (401) 254-4500
Address: 10 Metacom Avenue, Bristol, RI 02809