Personal Injury – Assault and or Battery

Most of the personal injury cases that are brought to personal injury lawyers are because of accidents, car crashes or slip and fall incidents. There is another category of personal injury that has grown in size partly due to the large number of people with anger issues. The “assault” or “battery” cases are on the steady rise in litigation and are handled by personal injury attorneys. The “assault” or “battery” case must be a case of intentional harm to the victim. Most assault and/or battery cases are handled in civil court vice instead of criminal court, due to the nature of the offense.

Assault – Personal Injury

An assault happens when a person (victim) expects that they are about to be harmed or hurt by another person (offender) the action must be a “reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact.” Some of the actions that might be considered as assault are;
• Person shaking their fist in your face – victim thinks he is going to get punched
• Person pointing a toy gun at you – victim thinks the gun in real and fears being shot
• While crossing at an intersection someone accelerates their car as if they are going to hit you then brakes – victim thinks he is about to be run over
In battery cases no actual contact needs to be made, the intent substantiates a tort for assault.

Battery – Personal Injury

The offender in a battery case makes intentional and harmful or offensive contact with another person. Battery cases can be litigated even when no physical harm comes to the victim. As long as the contact made by the offender was inappropriate or offensive victims should seek the services of a personal injury attorney concerning their right to compensation.

What to do in Assault or Battery Situations

As in all personal injury cases, time is of the essence. Do not hesitate of wait to contact a personal injury lawyer. The facts of the case and the evidence that will support the claim for compensation need to be documented in full in a timely manner. If an injury occurred documentation is of the utmost importance, medical records should be provided to the personal injury lawyer and photographs to support the extent of the injury should be furnished. If there are any witnesses be sure to obtain their name, address and phone number for future use by the personal injury attorney. Any compensation rewarded in an assault and/or battery case will be contingent on the extent of the incident.