Assault and Battery Attorneys

While most personal injury cases have to do with negligence and accidents, some actions are intentional. Assault and battery are intentional acts that can make up a lawsuit in civil court. To help bring such a suit, it is wise to consult with an experienced attorney.

Generally the victim of an assault and battery will sue the individual offender in order to receive compensation for any damages that have occurred as a result of the incident.

One of the biggest questions is what rises to the level of “assault” and “battery?”

Assault is an intentional act intended to cause a “reasonable apprehension of imminent and harmful contact.” This means that someone (the victim) is expecting that they are about to be hurt or touched in a harmful manner by another person. However, the fear of imminent harm must be reasonable. No actual touching is necessary.

When it comes to actual touching, a battery is usually at play. A battery is an intentional, harmful or offensive contact with another individual.

A battery can include contact that is:

Under civil law, physical harm is not necessary to prove battery. Contact must simply be offensive to a reasonable person and the offender must have committed such contact intentionally.

An assault can occur without a battery and a battery without an assault.