Torts are legal wrongs that one party suffers at the hands of another. Negligence is a form of tort which evolved because some types of loss or damage occur between parties that have no contract between them, and therefore there is nothing for one party to sue the other over.
Example: a driver who has an accident while speeding on a highway might be found liable for ordinary negligence, but a driver who hits a child while speeding through a school zone is acting with a reckless disregard that could form the basis for a finding of gross negligence.