Not all personal injury claims are the result of accidents or someone’s negligence. Sometimes they are the result of someone being violent and committing an act of assault or battery against you. If you’ve been the victim of a crime, and the prosecutor will not pursue a claim for damages, you can hire an attorney to address the matter in civil court.
Differences Between Crimes
Assault or battery are both torts, which are generally heard in criminal court. However, you can also contact an attorney specializing in personal injury law in Sparks, NV, to pursue a case civilly to recover damages resulting from a tort. The damages can be emotional or psychological, as they would be with an assault, or physical, as they would be with a battery.
Assault
An assault occurs when someone makes a threat against you. For instance, if they waved a fist in your face and threatened you or steered their car in your direction in a threatening manner while you were walking across the street. Even if no contact was made, but you were frightened or injured trying to escape them, then you could sue for personal damages under personal injury law.
Battery
A battery happens when you are physically touched. It may be direct and immediate as when someone punches you, or indirect and immediate like when you’re hit by an object someone threw. Battery may also be indirect and remote which is if someone set a trap and you fell into it or were hit with something. Any physical injuries you incurred could be mitigated by a personal injury law attorney.
A personal injury lawyer can go to court to help you recover expenses for medical bills, time off work, and pain and suffering connected to an assault or battery.
