What is considered an unintentional tort?

An unintentional tort refers to a civil wrong that occurs when an individual fails to act with the reasonable care that a prudent person would exercise in a similar situation, resulting in harm to another person. This concept is often associated with negligence, where the offending party does not have the intent to cause harm but still engages in behavior that results in injury or damage due to careless or reckless actions.

In this case, the correct response outlines the failure to take reasonable care, which aligns with the definition of negligence, a key element of unintentional torts. For instance, a driver who fails to pay attention and causes an accident may not have intended to hurt anyone, but they still can be held liable for the damages that resulted from their lack of caution.

The other options present intentional actions, where harm is either deliberately caused or involves unlawful actions. Purposefully inflicting harm directly relates to intentional torts, while deliberately misleading someone and unlawfully detaining an individual also fall under deliberate misconduct rather than unintentional harm. This classification highlights the importance of intention in differentiating types of torts.