When a tort is committed, the law allows the victim to claim money, known as damages, to compensate for the commission of the tort. This is paid by the person who committed the tort (known as the tortfeasor).
A crime is a wrong which is punished by the state; in most cases, the parties in the case are the wrongdoer and the state (called the Crown for these purposes), and the primary aim is to punish the wrongdoer.
By contrast, a tort action is between the wrongdoer and the victim, and the aim is to compensate the victim for the harm done. It is therefore incorrect to say that someone has been prosecuted for negligence, or found guilty of libel, as these terms relate to the criminal law. Journalists frequently make this kind of mistake, but law students should not!
There are, however, some areas in which the distinctions are blurred. In some tort cases, damages may be set at a high rate in order to punish the wrongdoer, while in criminal cases, the range of punishments now includes provision for the wrongdoer to compensate the victim financially (though this is still not the primary aim of criminal proceedings, and the awards are usually a great deal lower than would be ordered in a tort action.
There are cases in which the same incident may give rise to both criminal and tortious proceedings. An example would be a car accident, in which the driver might be prosecuted by the state for dangerous driving, and sued by the victim for the injuries caused.
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