Have you been the victim of assault or battery? Do you feel as though your human and civil rights have been violated? If so, the California assault and battery injury lawyers at the law offices of Bamieh and De Smeth might be able to take your case and help you file a civil lawsuit against the person who harmed you. Even without serious injuries, you may be entitled to compensation if someone violated your personal space or put you at risk by assaulting or battering you.
Suing for Assault and Battery in California
While assault and battery may be crimes, they are defined separately when filed as part of a civil lawsuit. These definitions are very similar to the criminal definitions of assault and battery in California, but many victims may be unfamiliar with these definitions.
Assault is defined as an attempt to touch another person in a harmful or offensive manner. To prove that someone assaulted you, your lawyer must prove each of the following elements:
- The defendant acted with the intent to touch or harm you
- You reasonably believed you would be touched or harmed
Alternatively, threats or false attempts to strike you (such as someone cocking their fist back without the attempt to throw a punch) can also qualify as assault if you honestly believed you might be hit. You can also sue for assault if the defendant never actually touched you but did try to touch you.
Battery is, instead, actual contact that was harmful or offensive. You must prove the following elements to win a lawsuit for battery:
- The defendant acted with the intent to touch or harm you
- You did not consent to the touching
- You suffered harm or offense because of the touching
In most battery cases where you see the attack coming, there can also be allegations of assault. However, there cannot be allegations of battery unless you were actually touched or struck, and there cannot be allegations of assault if you did not see the attack coming.
In some cases, the circumstances of the assault or battery might block a case for one of these intentional torts. Some physical contact with others is reasonably expected under some circumstances, and you may not be able to sue for things like being bumped into at a concert or having your hand shaken at a business meeting. Additionally, if you consented to the touching, such as a medical examination or minor roughhousing while playing sports, you may not be able to sue for battery. However, other types of offensive touching or harmful strikes outside what you consented to can still lead to an assault or battery lawsuit.
