Tort (Lamoet): Wrongful Acts under Section 420

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อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569

เอ การละเมิด (ละเมิด, lamoet, also spelt lamerd), called a wrongful act in the English translation of the Code, is defined in Section 420 of the ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์: a person who wilfully or negligently and unlawfully injures the life, body, health, liberty, property or any right of another is bound to compensate for the damage. It is the basis of every claim that does not rest on a contract: the road accident, the collapsing wall, the defamatory post, the assault outside a bar. For a foreigner it is usually the first civil claim they meet, and the one with the shortest deadline.

What Section 420 requires and who is liable

Four elements must be proved: an act or omission, fault (intention or negligence), damage to a protected interest, and a causal link between the two. The claimant bears the burden on all four, with two helpful presumptions: the keeper of a motor vehicle or other dangerous thing is liable unless he proves the damage was unavoidable or caused by the victim (Section 437), and a statement that injures reputation is actionable even without proof of financial loss (Section 423). Contributory fault reduces the award (Section 223).

Others may answer for the wrongdoer. An employer is jointly liable for a tort committed by an employee in the course of employment (Section 425), which is why the bus company or the hotel, not the driver or the guard, is the real defendant. Parents are liable for a minor’s torts unless they prove proper care (Section 429). Compensation is fixed by the court according to the circumstances and the gravity of the act (Section 438), and the claim must be brought within one year of the victim learning of the wrong and the wrongdoer, and never more than ten years after the act (Section 448).

Practical points for a foreigner who is injured

Report it. A police report is the foundation of a tort claim, and where the act is also a crime (careless driving causing injury, assault, defamation) the victim can join a civil claim to the criminal prosecution, saving a separate court fee and benefiting from the longer criminal limitation period. Keep every receipt: medical bills, repair invoices, proof of lost income. Thai courts award what is documented and are conservative with unprovable figures.

The common mistake is to negotiate with an insurer or the wrongdoer’s family for months and then discover that the year under Section 448 has passed. Compulsory motor insurance pays fixed sums quickly, but the balance against the driver or employer requires a filed claim. The guide on คำปรึกษาทางกฎหมายหลังเกิดอุบัติเหตุในประเทศไทย sets out the sequence.

Tort, breach of contract and crime compared

The same event can be all three. A driver who hits a pedestrian faces prosecution and a civil claim; a builder who leaves a dangerous site has broken his contract with the client and committed a tort against the passer-by. Contract claims carry a ten year limitation and are confined to losses the parties could foresee (Section 222); tort claims have the one year limit but reach any damage caused. A criminal fine goes to the state and compensates nobody, so a victim who wants money must claim it separately or within the prosecution.

ค่าเสียหาย in tort are compensatory. Thai courts do not award punitive damages under the Code; the limited exceptions are in consumer and product liability legislation.

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ดูเพิ่มเติม: ค่าเสียหาย, Prescription (limitation periods), การหมิ่นประมาท, Good faith, Civil liability in Thailand และ Legal advice after an accident in Thailand.