Auto Accident Law 101

Assault And Battery: Why A Personal Injury Lawsuit May Fail

24 November 2014

Everett Cook

Before you bring an assault and battery lawsuit, you ought to evaluate your chances of succeeding. It helps to know some of the common defenses that may crumple your case. For example, you may not have a case if:

You Consented to the Possibility of Being Hurt

The defendant can argue you consented to the possibility of getting injured. You cannot agree to take a risk and then later sue the party that causes the risk, as long as what you agreed to wasn't illegal. The consent may be expressed, informed or implied.

• In express consent, you specifically agree to undertake the dangerous activity. For example, patients have to give express consent (usually in writing) before undergoing surgery.
• In informed consent, you agree you understand the risks associated with the activity, but elect to proceed anyway. For example, before taking part in a drug trial, you have to be informed of all the potential side effects before you can agree to it.
• In implied consent, it is assumed you have agreed to the risks as long as you understand the activity you are about to engage in. For example, if you are a boxer, then you give your implied consent every time you step into the ring for a match.

The Defendant's Actions Were Privileged

There are some dangerous activities that are nonetheless necessary for some situations. For example, physically separating a school fight is dangerous, but the teacher is legally allowed or even required to separate fighting students. If you are one of the students, and you get injured in the process, then your teacher may be immune from a personal injury lawsuit because his or her actions are privileged.

Of course, the court has to determine he or she used a reasonable and appropriate amount of force to separate the fighters. Therefore, if the teacher used a pocket knife to separate you, then the court is likely to view that as unreasonable force and allow the lawsuit to proceed.

The Defendant Was Acting in Self-Defense

Your assault and battery case is also likely to fail if the defendant was acting in self-defense. A person is allowed to respond appropriately when facing physical harm. Again, the court has to determine your defense was appropriate (in force) to the imminent threat you were facing.

Consider a situation where you swing a baseball bat to hit somebody in the head, he or she grabs your hand and sprains one of your fingers in the process. If you bring up an injury case against such a person, then you are likely to lose because the person was defending himself or herself from your attack.

Personal injury cases aren't always straightforward. Therefore, you need to consult with personal injury lawyers to evaluate your claims and help you decide whether to proceed with your lawsuit.

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