Compensating Victims of Personal Injuries in Tort: The Nigerian Experience in Fifty Years

Abstract

Compensation for personal injuries has become a critical part of legal regulation of social interaction because personal injuries impacts on the life and limb of victims, with implications on political stability. The question arises as to the significance of tort liability for personal injuries in Nigeria in the midst of the available systems of compensation. Traditional tort theory of no liability without fault has continued to play a significant role in compensation of personal injuries in Nigeria. Minor changes have been recorded significantly in the in the area of employment injuries. Therefore, personal injuries actions arising from accidental acts are based essentially on the tort of negligence, but are overlaid by some statutes depending on the factual context of the claims. This has ensured that the law has had little impact in its goal as there are challenges in this framework. There is need for tort to meet the socio-economic needs of citizens in Nigeria by rising up to the standards of other countries in terms of creating other liability regimes for personal injuries outside of the tort traditional theory.