An assault and battery is a personal injury that is inflicted on purpose by one person or group of people upon another. For this reason, many assault and battery cases are not only prosecuted from a criminal perspective by the state, but are also then sued civilly for damages from personal injuries to the victim. This is particularly true when the accused has been convicted at the criminal level.
Under the requirements for assault only, no contact need occur, and under the requirements for battery only, no intention need exist - yet to satisfy the requirements of assault and battery, the accused must be proven to have intended to cause either fear or harmful contact, as well as actually commit the offensive contact in question.
The only elements that need to be satisfied in order for a battery to exist are measurable harm, either physically, emotionally, or financially. The elements that must be satisfied in order for an assault to exist are only that the intent to do harm or cause fear, apprehension, or discomfort, be clear to a reasonable person. Under criminal law, if a battery is proven, the victim can file for compensation through a victim's fund, as well as file a civil lawsuit for personal injury compensation.
No comments:
Post a Comment