When is a crime also a tort?

A good answer was given above. However, to expand, a crime is also a tort when there is an identifiable victim who was injured by the actions of the defendant. Therefore, drunk driving without property damage or injury is only a crime, assault and battery can be both a crime and a tort. Aside, usually, a crime is defined as an intentional act (i.e., someone meant to punch another person); therefore, most crimes that are also a tort will be intentional torts rather than negligent torts.

The same act can be both a crime and a tort. It gets especially confusing whe the crime and the tort have the same name.

The difference between a crime and a tort is that in a criminal case, the government prosecutes, the victim doesn't get to say if or when the case gets filed, and if a conviction results, the defendant goes to jail (or maybe prison, if it's a bad crime). In a tort case, the victim files the lawsuit and if the defendant is found liable, the defendant has to pay the victim money to compensate the victim for the damage she has sustained. The burden of proof is much higher in a criminal case, too.

For instance, take the crime of battery. It is a crime to touch someone in an way that causes them harm, without their consent. There is also a tort of battery, which has basically the same elements.

Now let's say Andy the Assailant picks a fight with Victor the Victim in a bar. Andy grabs a beer bottle and smashes it over Victor's head in the fight, and the broken glass puts Victor's eye out. (This also makes it "mayhem," by the way.)

The District Attorney can file assault and battery charges against Andy. If the D.A. proves his case beyond a reasonable doubt, Andy goes to prison. That is a criminal case.

Then, Victor sues Andy for battery. If he proves his case by a preponderance of the evidence, Andy will have to pay money to Victor to compensate him for the loss of his eye, including the pain and suffering Victor felt when he was attacked. That is a tort case.

a tort is a civil term. Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs that do not arise out of contractual duties. A person who is legally injured may be able to use tort law to recover damages from someone who is legally responsible, or "liable," for those injuries. Generally speaking, tort law defines what constitutes a legal injury, and establishes the circumstances under which one person may be held liable for another's injury. Torts cover intentional acts and accidents.