Ace the Intro to Paralegal Studies 2026 – Unleash Your Legal Eagle Powers!

The tort that arises from harmful or offensive physical contact is battery. Battery is defined as the intentional infliction of harmful or offensive contact with another person. This contact can be direct, such as hitting someone, or indirect, such as setting a trap that leads to contact with the person. The key component of battery is that the contact must be intentional and must cause harm or be offensive to a reasonable person.

In contrast, assault involves the apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact rather than the actual contact itself. Negligence pertains to a failure to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person, but it does not necessarily involve intentional contact. Defamation involves making false statements that damage a person's reputation and is unrelated to physical contact. Thus, battery is specifically the tort that addresses harmful or offensive physical contact.