Vermont Tort Laws

Over the course of everyday human interactions, it is inevitable for people to experience harm, whether intentionally or accidentally caused by others. This may be in the form of physical injuries, trespassing, or an emotionally harmful act like slander or libel. These infractions are covered by tort law, which governs civil violations that lead to any harm, loss, or injury to another. In Vermont, almost 400 cases arising from torts were filed in 2022.

Personal injury, a narrower subset of tort law, covers harm to a person’s emotions or body.

Meanwhile, a mass tort, as one can derive from the name, involves a single party causing harm to several victims. In some instances, the effects of mass torts span various states and multiple decades.

One such case involves asbestos exposure. The first lung cancer diagnosis connected to this in the U.S. was made in 1935, but it remains an issue of concern across several states, including Vermont. In fact, the mass tort action stemming from asbestos exposure is the largest one the country has seen.

If you or a loved one is a victim of a tort or a mass tort similar to the one above, it is important to be familiar with the laws surrounding these concepts — which are discussed below — to help you recover damages.

Basic Tort Categories in Vermont

Negligent Torts

A negligent tort occurs when someone fails to exercise a sufficient amount of care to prevent harm to another person or property. In other words, if one’s carelessness causes damage to others, they have committed a negligent tort and are called a tortfeasor. Some common examples include:

• Causing property or bodily damage due to texting while driving.

• Failing to check road conditions properly before turning one’s car, which consequently leads to a collision.

• Failing to put up a wet floor sign, which causes a patron to slip and fall in an area that has been newly mopped.

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts are where the tortfeasor intentionally causes harm to another or acts with such a gross disregard for safety that the act might as well have been intended. Some forms of intentional torts are:

• Assault, like deliberately kicking a person out of annoyance.

• Defamation, or slandering someone by spreading hurtful lies.

These torts are generally viewed as more reprehensible than negligent ones and could lead to a tortfeasor paying a higher amount of damages.

Strict Liability Torts

Strict liability torts are those that do not take into consideration the intentions of the tortfeasor nor require any proof of negligence for the award of damages. As long as the plaintiff was harmed because of the actions or inaction of the tortfeasor, damages are due. This is usually reserved for highly regulated activities that have a heightened potential to cause harm to the public. In Vermont, harm caused by products is a strict liability issue.

Other Tort Categories in Vermont

Economic Torts

An economic tort, also referred to as a business tort, refers to a class of infractions that arise from business transactions and that cause purely economic losses. A common example of this is contractual interference. This is when one party influences another to enter into a business contract or break an existing agreement. Another type of economic tort is contract fraud, which involves stating false information in order for another party to sign a contract.

Nuisances

Nuisances are committed when a person interferes with the exercise of other people’s rights. There are two types of nuisances recognized by state law:

• A private nuisance is one where a person uses their property in a way that causes damage or annoyance to a neighbor.

• If the harm or damage is to the general public and not just a particular neighbor, the nuisance is a public one.

Nuisances are often dealt with through abatement; however, there are cities within the state, like Montpelier, where damages are also imposed on whoever introduces a public nuisance. Some examples of nuisances include playing music very loudly so that the entire street can hear it or needlessly running a loud generator set all week.

Tort vs. Crime in Vermont

Tort and criminal suits are similar in Vermont law in the sense that both seek to address questionable behavior in society, whether due to negligence or intentional wrongdoing. However, there are key differences between these two concepts:

Mass Torts in Vermont

A mass tort refers to an omission or action that causes an injury to more than one person. As discussed above, one common example involves asbestos exposure, which can lead to mesothelioma. Another one involves the talcum powder claims against Johnson & Johnson. In these cases, multiple individuals were harmed because companies made dangerous substances available to the public. Large-scale catastrophes, such as fires or explosions occurring in a chemical plant and hurting an entire neighborhood, can also lead to mass tort actions.

These actions are generally used to expedite the filing of multiple cases against a common, big-target company, like the manufacturer of a defective medical device. It is often impractical to sue alone and difficult to build a compelling case if one’s situation can be written off as an isolated incident. Hence, it is beneficial to join up with other victims to show that one’s situation is not unique.

Mass Tort Cases vs. Class Actions

Mass tort cases and class actions in Vermont law are very similar in that both involve multiple individuals suing a common defendant. However, in a mass tort action, the plaintiffs are not treated as a single collective; they are separate entities with separate cases. Meanwhile, class actions are pursued by a single class representative on behalf of the entire group, and the success or failure of the representative affects them all.

Procedurally, the members of the represented class in a class action have to share a common question of law or fact. On the other hand, mass tort cases are not as strict since the factual situations of the individual plaintiffs could be different as long as they were harmed by the same actions of the same defendant.

The Mass Tort Action Process

Mass tort cases in Vermont generally follow the same process:

1. A tort victim’s lawyer reviews their detailed medical records and written eyewitness testimonies — among other pieces of evidence — and analyzes how strong their case is or if they have grounds to pursue legal action.

2. If the case is valid, the legal counsel files a case on their behalf.

3. If the lawyer or the court determines that there are similarities between the plaintiff’s case and other people’s claims, they are treated as a mass tort action.

4. To expedite the process, the action goes through multidistrict litigation. Here, the cases are submitted to a single federal court instead of being filed individually with different district courts.

5. Bellwether trials — designed to prevent wasting time should a mass tort action be weak — are done to determine if the lawsuits have a good chance of success. These trials only involve select cases from the entire collective. If the bellwether trials result in a favorable outcome for the defendant, there is a possibility that the mass tort action will not proceed to settlement negotiations or trials.

6. In other cases, the mass tort action may conclude through a settlement among the parties involved or a trial verdict made by a jury or a judge.

The procedure above can go more smoothly if one hires a litigation lawyer who knows how to deal with all the necessary steps involved.

Vermont Tort Liability Insurance Requirements

Vermont law requires some businesses to be insured against tort or mass tort claims. Workers’ compensation insurance is also a requirement for businesses that employ at least five employees. This is good protection in case of a workplace accident that hurts multiple workers.

Additionally, commercial auto insurance with the following limits is a must for businesses that use vehicles:

• $25,000 per person for bodily injury.

• $50,000 per accident for bodily injury.

• $10,000 per accident for property damage.

They also need uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with the following limits:

• $50,000 per person for bodily injury.

• $100,000 per accident for bodily injury.

• $10,000 for property damage.

The law requires these insurance policies to ensure that the general public will always have some recourse for compensation if these businesses commit tortious actions. There are also options to acquire further coverage against general liability and lawsuits.

The Statute of Limitations for Tort Cases in Vermont

For tort and mass tort cases in Vermont, the most common statute of limitations is three years from the discovery of the harm, which may differ from the date when the incident causing the harm actually occurred. This generally applies to toxic, negligent, and intentional torts, as well as personal injury matters. Product liability and medical malpractice claims must be brought within the same three-year period.

There are times when the statute of limitations is shorter or longer than three years. For wrongful death claims, the aggrieved party must sue within two years from the discovery of the death. For cases of fraud, the time limit is six years.

These periods also apply to mass tort cases, which means one must pursue legal action or join an active one before the deadline.

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

As a general rule, a plaintiff in a Vermont tort or mass tort action can pursue economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to the tangible harm that a claimant suffers due to the defendant’s action. Examples of economic damages are medical bills and rehabilitation costs incurred when recovering from a tort or mass tort incident. These may refer to treatments for lung damage due to exposure to asbestos or toxic chemicals. Non-economic damages, meanwhile, pertain to compensation for intangible and unquantifiable harms like emotional distress and physical disfigurement.

Regardless of whether the damages are economic or non-economic, one should note that in Vermont, there is a limit to how much the state can be made to pay if sued in a tort or mass tort action. The damage cap is $500,000 for a single plaintiff and $2 million for all plaintiffs in a single action.

Punitive damages, another type of monetary payment a defendant may have to make, are somewhat similar to the fines imposed in criminal cases. Courts may order a defendant to pay punitive damages as punishment if they have committed a morally reprehensible act. For these to be awarded, two elements have to be present: outrageously objectionable conduct and malice.

Damages may be proportionally reduced if a plaintiff is partly at fault for the harm they sustained. However, if their degree of negligence or fault is greater than the defendant’s, they will be totally barred from recovering compensation.

Other Legal Remedies in Tort Cases in Vermont

An injunction, in the broadest terms, is an order by the court to a defendant to refrain from performing an action that causes harm to the plaintiff. This legal remedy has three main kinds:

• Temporary restraining order: A temporary restraining order is granted if there is a great possibility that the defendant will cause irreparable and immediate loss or damage to the plaintiff. Since the defendant does not get a chance to promptly contest the basis for a TRO, the order itself lasts for only up to 14 days. The defendant also gets no prior notice if a TRO is instituted.

• Preliminary injunction: A preliminary injunction is similar to a TRO but requires sending a notice to the adverse party, a hearing, and the placement of a bond. One may apply to upgrade an existing TRO to a preliminary injunction. The effect of this is to make the legal remedy last until the case ends.

• Permanent injunction: A permanent injunction is granted when the case ends and essentially makes the preliminary injunction perpetual.

Restitution, another type of legal remedy, is associated with cases of unjust enrichment. The plaintiff is allowed to recover an amount based not on how much they lost but on how much the defendant gained.

Resources for Tort Victims in Vermont

Vermont Bar Association: Find a Lawyer

The Vermont Bar Association is the professional organization of attorneys in the state. It has an online facility for lawyer referrals. Tort and mass tort victims may use this resource to locate a lawyer with expertise and experience in cases similar to their own. For more information, you may contact the association through the following:

Vermont Bar Association
PO Box 100, Montpelier
VT 05601-0100

Phone: (802) 223-2020
Fax: (802) 223-1573
E-mail: info@vtbar.org

Vermont Free Legal Answers

Vermont Free Legal Answers connects individuals with legal concerns with attorneys. One may ask queries to a lawyer online, who, in turn, will respond free of charge via email. The service is backed by the American Bar Association and is available in over 35 states.

Mesothelioma Lawyer Center

The Mesothelioma Lawyer Center allows residents of Vermont to link up with attorneys who specialize in mesothelioma and asbestos exposure cases. The attorneys are involved in each step of the process, from initial consultation to litigation and recovery of compensation. The organization handles cases nationwide.