How is tort punished?

Answer 1

In the law of torts, the person who commits a tort is not so much "punished," as the "victim" is compensated or made whole.

Unlike criminal law, where the purpose is to punish people for their wrongdoings according to their blameworthiness and vindicate the values of society, tort is primarily about correcting wrongs done to individual victims. Now, normally, this is done in an imperfect way: the tortfeasor pays the victim money. I say that this is imperfect because normally a tort victim has been harmed in some physical way (like the loss of a limb) that cannot be replaced by money alone. However, tort law aims to calculate the total value of the loss and to make the tortfeasor compensate the victim for that loss. In this sense, then, tort is about redistributing loss: taking away from the tortfeasor and giving to the victim. Again, the emphasis is on making the victim "whole."

Every once in a while, however, someone will commit a tort that is very egregious, and is part of a systematic risk taken for economic gain. In this case, "punative" damages may be in order which are a form of punishment and do take on a role similar to criminal law. These punitive damages are given to the victim, over and above the compensatory damages, and are always monetary in form.