Torts: What is a Battery Claim?

A "tort" is a wrong committed that usually includes the breach of a duty to someone else. There are several "intentional" torts: battery, assault, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Torts that are not intentional are usually "negligence" torts. To prove that someone has committed a negligence tort, one must not necessarily show that the person acted intentionally.

Battery is one of the many intentional torts. This article will explore what has to be proved to be successful in a battery claim.

A plaintiff has to show two things to be successful in a battery claim against another person. First, the plaintiff must show that the alleged batterer has committed an offensive contact. Second, the plaintiff must show that this offensive contact has been made to the plaintiff's person.

An offensive contact is, essentially, a contact that is not permitted by a reasonable person. For example, if someone comes up to you at a bus stop and punches you in the face, this would be an offensive contact by pretty much anyone's standards. If, however, a person comes up to you and taps you on the shoulder at the bus stop to ask directions, this would probably not be considered an offensive contact because most people would allow another person to tap them on the shoulder. This person, therefore, would not be able to be successful in a battery claim.

In other words, if a person is very sensitive to a particular kind of contact, but most other people would not be sensitive to the same type of contact, the sensitive person will not be able to bring a successful battery claim. The law is written this way because we, as a society, do not want anyone to bring claims for actions that would not be offensive to a reasonable person.

A plaintiff's "person" includes not only the plaintiff's actual body, but also include anything the plaintiff is holding at the time the alleged battery is committed. If, for example, you were walking down the street holding your cell phone in your hand and someone wrestled it from your hand and ran away, this would be considered a battery to the plaintiff's person even if that person never touched your actual body.

As with anything in the law, there are always arguments to be made that something does or does not meet the definition. However, the steps above should give you a working knowledge of what actions do and what actions do not constitute a battery.