Battery Basics

Offenders may face civil liability and criminal charges for a single act of battery. A criminal case is brought by a government prosecutor on behalf of the state. The outcome focuses on guilt for lawbreaking and criminal sentencing.

A civil case involves claims between private parties. The outcome focuses on compensating the victim for their damages. Battery is not limited to physical injury. Courts consider other types of injuries when determining damages.

If you suffer a serious injury due to a battery, you can sue the offender. You can discuss this option with a personal injury lawyer to better understand the process and your chances of a successful claim.

How Battery Differs From Assault

Battery is often confused with assault. Assault is the act of threatening battery or placing another in fear or reasonable apprehension of an impending and immediate battery (bodily injury). Assault almost always comes before battery, so the terms are often confused or combined, as in”assault and battery.”

A person commits a battery if they act intentionally to cause harmful contact or offensive physical contact (or to cause imminent apprehension of such contact) and a harmful or offensive contact actually occurs.

Civil Battery (Tort)

Battery is an intentional tort, not an act resulting from negligence. The elements to establish the tort of battery are the same as for criminal battery, except that the case doesn’t need to have criminal-specific intent.

In personal injury cases, the elements of civil battery are:

• Intent: The offender had general intent to commit the act (not necessarily the criminal intent to cause injury)
• Contact: Non-consensual contact with the individual or their effects, such as clothing, occurred
• Harm: The battery caused actual harm, meaning bodily harm, mental harm, or emotional harm, not limited to physical harm

The requisite intent for a tortious battery to occur is merely to touch or make contact without consent. It doesn’t need to be an intention to do wrong.

The wrongdoer also doesn’t need to intend to cause the particular type of harm that occurs. For example, the wrongdoer might have pushed the victim, but this caused them to fall down a staircase, causing several broken bones. The wrongdoer might have only wanted to shove the victim to make a point without seriously harming them. Yet, the victim can still sue for the damages of those injuries. Non-consensual touching is all that is required to assert a viable personal injury lawsuit.

A battery can be as direct as striking someone in the face with your fists. It can also be as indirect as setting a trap that harms a person hours or days after it is set. A battery may also coincide with other types of claims. A medical malpractice claim can also have a tortious battery claim if a doctor performed an unauthorized surgery. Unwanted sexual contact or other non-consensual touching that causes harm can also be battery.

Damages in Civil Battery Claims

Damages awarded in battery cases vary widely, depending on the seriousness of the plaintiff’s injuries. They also depend on whether a defendant acted as a reasonable person, such as in self-defense or defense of others. Another factor is the personal injury laws of your state as they relate to intentional acts.

To recover damages under civil law, the victim must have suffered harm in some way. The harm could be physical, mental, or emotional. It can be as slight as a tap or an unwanted hug, but there must be harm to win a civil lawsuit.

A jury can assess damages and may award recoveries that are nominal, compensatory, or punitive. Punitive damages are awarded in extraordinary circumstances where a defendant acted with egregious malice, such as knowingly resulting in an injured party’s wrongful death.

Criminal Battery

The difference between battery as a crime and battery as a civil tort is the type of intent required. Unlike in tort law, a criminal battery requires the presence of mens rea or criminal intent to do wrong. In other words, the defendant in a criminal case must have wanted to cause harmful or offensive contact.

A battery conviction results in a criminal sentence, such as jail time. Unlike civil claims, criminal cases don’t focus on addressing the victim’s losses. So, a defendant found guilty of battery is often sued by the victim in a civil action for the same incident. 

Classifications of Battery Crimes

Often accompanied by criminal assault, a criminal battery is usually prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Repeated offenses or the nature of the offense may warrant more severe treatment. For example, in some states, a second or third offense against the same person is a felony. In cases of domestic violence, many states do not permit battery charges to be dropped against the defendant, even at the request of the victim, because of the potential for repeat or escalated harm.

Most sexual crimes include elements of battery since they involve non-consensual contact. Some states have penal codes listing the specific crime of”sexual battery.”

An aggravated battery is a simple battery with another element of an aggravating factor. This is most often the use of a deadly weapon (whether the use was real or threatened) and is almost always a felony offense.

Other aggravated batteries include:

• Batteries committed against protected persons (children, the elderly or disabled, or governmental agents)
• Batteries in which the victim suffers serious injury
• Batteries that occur in a public transit vehicle or station, school zone, or other protected places

These are all aggravating factors that will push misdemeanor batteries to felonies.

Is a Criminal Conviction Required To Sue for Battery?

No, you don’t have to wait for the police or a criminal trial. You can start a civil claim for a battery injury regardless of criminal charges or a conviction. 

Civil lawsuits use a separate process and have a lower burden of proof than criminal cases. It’s even possible for a person to lose an injury lawsuit but never face criminal penalties for the battery.

Would a Conviction Help My Civil Case?

Yes, a criminal conviction can support a civil claim of battery. You could also use the same evidence from the criminal trial in your injury case.

Criminal trials must prove that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. So if a criminal court had already issued a guilty verdict before the lawsuit, the offender’s defense would face challenges. For example, they would have a more difficult time contesting the fact that they were indeed the person who battered the plaintiff. 

Yet, it’s not necessary to wait until after the criminal process to begin the lawsuit. Delaying might also not be a good idea. Like most personal injury claims, battery claims have a limited filing period known as a statute of limitations. Once this deadline passes, you can’t file your lawsuit. Your attorney can help you understand the best timing for your case with all these factors in mind.

Get Legal Help With Your Questions About Battery

If someone hit and injured you, you may be able to file a claim for damages. It helps to have the guidance of an attorney before you take action.

Contact a local personal injury lawyer today to pursue your battery claim. A personal injury attorney can help you get money for your pain and suffering. They can also get you money for medical bills and even emotional distress.