Assaults and Civil Lawsuits
In the United States, there are 250 cases of physical assault per 100,000 of the population. While many people think that assaults onle lead to criminal charges, these wrongful acts can be the basis for a personal injury lawsuit. Here are a few things that you need to know about assaults and personal injury claims.What Is an Assault?
For the purposes of civil law, an assault is defined as a purposeful act with the intention to instill fear or make harmful contact with another person. This assault is known as an "intentional tort" when this act is the center of a civil lawsuit. Many people believe that assault requires some type of physical contact, but that is not often the case, especially when it comes to civil law. If the person's action caused fear of harmful or offensive touching, that could be considered an assault. When there is physical contact, then those actions are often classified as battery. In many cases, both assault and battery claims are filed together in a civil lawsuit.The Elements of Assault
If you plan to file an assault lawsuit, you have to prove several elements, such as:- The action was intentional on the defendant's part
- The intention caused apprehension of harm by you
- You as the victim had a reasonable apprehension of immediate harm
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