Can I Sue For Battery In Maryland?
When someone makes a choice to physically harm you, the physical and emotional effects can be detrimental. Personal injury law generally focuses on harm caused by accidents and negligence, but intentional harm is another form of personal injury. If you have been injured due to someone causing you physical harm, such as by attacking you, punching you, or even threatening you with a weapon, you can recover for your physical and emotional damages as well as your medical expenses.
What is Battery?
There is often confusion between assault and battery. While both of these crimes can give rise to a personal injury lawsuit, there are distinct differences legally. Assault occurs when one person causes another person to reasonably believe that they are in imminent danger. An example of assault is pointing a gun at someone. Pointing a gun at someone would reasonably cause them to fear that they are in imminent danger. This is true even if the gun is not loaded or if it’s fake (but appeared real). Battery, on the other hand, involves actual physical harm. Assault and battery often go hand in hand, with assault preceding battery. For instance, if someone pulls their fist back like they are going to punch you, this would constitute assault, whereas once they actually punch you, they have also committed battery. Any kind of physical harm caused by another can result in battery charges. Bar fights and domestic abuse often result in instances of battery.
What if I’m Also Bringing Criminal Charges?
It’s important to understand that filing criminal charges for assault or battery does not prevent you from also filing a personal injury lawsuit against the defendant. In fact, succeeding in criminal court will likely bolster your chances of success in civil proceedings. That’s because the evidentiary standard in criminal court is much higher than in civil court, where personal injury lawsuits are brought. This means that if you can meet the evidentiary standard in criminal court, you are almost sure to meet it in civil court where you only need to meet a much lower threshold. For this reason, some people wait to see what the outcome is in criminal court before deciding whether to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you are considering this tactic, however, it’s important to consult with a lawyer first, since you do lose your right to bring a personal injury claim after a certain amount of time, which, in some cases, a criminal determination may exceed or jeopardize. A personal injury lawyer can help you develop a strong legal strategy based on the criminal proceedings, damages, and the statute of limitations in your state.
Schedule a Consultation with Berman, Sobin, Gross, LLP
If you have suffered serious physical injuries due to another person’s intentional conduct, the experienced Maryland personal injury attorneys at Berman, Sobin, Gross, LLP want to fight to get you the compensation and justice that you are entitled to for the harm that you have suffered. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and find out how we can help.
