Civil assault and battery is not exactly
the same thing in a sexual harassment lawsuit. They are
separate and distinctive crimes. A civil assault is when one person threatens
another and deliberately puts the other person in fear of a physical attack. On
the other hand, in a battery claim there needs to have been actual physical
contact and injury (not just a threat) say sexual harassment lawyers.
The complainant in a civil assault case,
provided that he is able to prove that the defendant was liable, is eligible
for compensation and may receive economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive
damages as well.
We shall elaborate a bit on the types of
damages and the manner in which they relate to an assault related legal
complaint.
Nominal
damages in an assault case
Nominal damages are usually a rather
meagre amount or settlement provided to the plaintiff in an assault case where
the plaintiff was able to establish that the defendant was liable, but there
was no actual, physical, tangible harm, or injury caused to the plaintiff.
The only reason any compensation is
given at all is because in the eyes of the law, even the threat of physical
violence itself is considered harm (a mental anguish of sorts). Have you ever
seen 24, Day 8 when Jack Bauer told the security officer who was a holding a
gun to Bauer’s face and Bauer said “you better point that thing somewhere else
before you get hurt?” This may not be a perfect example here (yes, I know this is not sexually related but the idea is the same) since Bauer did
have a gun point at him but at the time the security officer thought Bauer was
doing something wrong (as if that was possible) but you may get the point. This
security officer was extremely worried that Bauer threatened to hurt him even
though he had the gun! Even if you have a weapon it is stressful if someone
threatens you with violence.
Just imagine how worrisome it is if you do not have a weapon.
Being awarded nominal damages does not
necessarily meant that it is the end of the road as far as the lawsuit is
concerned. In fact, in most cases, nominal damages are awarded right at the
beginning of the case and are a sign of good things to come for the plaintiff
(like punitive damages) say sexual harassment attorneys.
Compensatory
damages for assault
Compensatory damages on the other hand
could, in some cases, involve huge sums of money and is meant as a way to repay
or compensate the plaintiff for what he or she has gone through in terms of
mental and physical harm and consequent financial expenses. According to sexual
harassment lawyers, compensatory damages can be classified into two types:
general damages and special damages.
General damages include typical claims
that inevitably come along with an assault filing such as emotional pain,
mental anguish, and suffering, to name a few. When it comes to general damages
the amount awarded to the plaintiff will be decided by the jury.
Special damages, as per sexual
harassment lawyers (http://employment-law.usattorneys.com/), on the other hand are monetarily
quantifiable losses that the plaintiff has incurred as a result of the assault.
So let us assume the plaintiff was assaulted and as a result became inflicted
with a broken arm which required professional medical care. This cost the
plaintiff money and this is something he or she will be compensated for though
special damages.
Punitive
damages
Punitive damages are very different from
the damages that we have talked about thus far. This type of damage claim does
not actually compensate the plaintiff for any losses but is instead meant as a
way to punish the defendant further for having committed the assault. Hopefully
the lesson is learned. Some people are obtuse though and just continue to mess
up their lives but that is not your problem, take your money and walk away. You
did you your job and tried to teach them a lesson.
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