What is Assault and Battery?

Although assault and battery are often paired together as one offense, these terms have two different legal meanings and can occur separately. An assault refers to an illegal and intentional threat to cause bodily harm to another person. Even if there is no actual contact between the people involved, an assault may still have taken place. For example, if someone points a toy water gun at another person they may be liable for assault even though the "weapon" was only a toy.

Battery refers to the intentional touching of a person against that person's will. Touching someone else in an offensive or inappropriate way can constitute a battery, even if it does not cause injury. It may include touching with an object, another person, or a substance flung through the air. For example, someone who spits one someone else, or throws a glass of water on someone else, has committed a battery even though no physical injury would likely result from the incident. Similarly, a person who pokes his/her finger into someone else's chest to accentuate their argument could be guilty of battery.

A typical example of an assault would include a person swerving toward another person with their car, pointing a loaded gun or knife at another person, or holding their fist to someone else's face. Conversely, a battery implies that there was some sort of contact between those involved. Here is a clear example: If a woman chases her boyfriend around the house with a baseball bat in her hands, it is considered assault. If she catches up to him and hits him with the bat, the charge becomes battery.

Assault is legally considered a violent crime against another person. However, most assault cases only result in a misdemeanor charge. This is because assault is usually defined as an attempt to commit battery, without the end product of serious physical injury. While simple assault is considered a misdemeanor, "aggravated assault" is classified as a felony and treated as a more serious crime. An example of aggravated assault would be assault that involves the use of a deadly weapon. If the assault in question involves a police officer, it would also be considered more serious and the offender could face a significant amount of jail time.

In most cases, battery results in a misdemeanor charge. However, in cases of "aggravated battery" there is heightened felony charge. Charges of aggravated battery often result in irreparable damage or permanent disability for the victim. Legally, there are only three possible excuses for assault and battery. These include cases in which the act was one of self-defense, incidents in which the act can be proven accidental, and cases in which the element of consent was involved.

If you have been the victim of an assault and/or battery, you have most likely suffered both emotionally and physically as a result. Retaining an experienced personal injury attorney is the only way to recover damages caused by an assault or battery. You may qualify for compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, impaired future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and in some cases, punitive damages. In particularly brutal cases, punitive damages are granted at the expense of the attacker. If you or a loved one have been injured as a result of an assault and/or battery, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer today to discuss your case.