Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. This article discusses some of the distinctions between tort law and criminal law.

Federal law does not require air carriers to provide medical assistance to passengers. However, the federal Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 provides that an air carrier is not liable for:

People who attempt to redress their grievances against others in court sometimes bring actions against the wrong people by mistake or intentionally. In certain circumstances, a defendant may recover against the plaintiff who improperly brought him to court.

When a plaintiff and a defendant enter into a settlement of a tort action, the tax consequences of the settlement will depend upon whether the damages are allocated in the settlement agreement. In other words, the key question is whether the plaintiff and the defendant have set forth the amount that is to be paid for the plaintiff's pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, or punitive damages.

The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) applies to claims for personal injury caused by the negligence of a federal government employee who is acting within the scope of his or her employment, under circumstances where a private person would be liable under state law. Therefore, the FTCA applies only to personal injury actions that arise from the negligence of a federal government employee.