Assault With and Without Battery: Associated Damages and Legal Implications

Assault and battery are two entirely different criminal and civil charges that are often alleged together in the litigation process. However, in some cases, either assault or battery can be alleged without involving the other. While criminal cases are managed in accordance with statutory guidelines, these intentional tort actions are also punishable by civil litigation.

If you have been charged with an action related to battery, you may, or may not, be associated with an assault charge as well. When facing battery charges alone, it is important to address the issues of not only defending the criminal aspects of your case, but also the potential civil actions.

In a civil action involving battery, the person filing the civil action must show there was either an unlawful toughing of your body, or person, or that a wrongful physical occurrence of violence had occurred without consent. In many cases of civil actions involving battery, there may not be intent to cause bodily harm to the individual but, ultimately, the situation ends with some type of physical harm.

The challenge in defending a civil suit involving battery may lie in the degree to which the physical contact occurs. While you may have touched only the clothing of the individual, or possible touched a purse or some other object the person was holding, this can be deemed a battery charge if it was, indeed, attached to the person's body in some form.

As in the case of assault without battery, when a civil claim of battery is filed, the intent of the person filing is to seek monetary damages for the mental anguish or psychological fear associated with the battery event. In neither assault nor battery, alone, are damages recovered for the actual bodily injury sustained or any medical expenses related to it.

When facing any type of intentional tort action, especially in a criminal case, it is important to discuss the possibilities of a civil action with your attorney. In many cases, defense attorneys opt to focus only upon the criminal action and neglect to see the "big picture", preparing for civil action that may follow it. By taking a "big picture" approach to a battery charge, you can prepare for defending the civil case as you work through the statutory requirements under the criminal case. The key to any successful outcome, however, will lie in proper legal representation and taking a proactive approach.