Were you or a loved one a victim of battery in San Diego, California? If so, an experienced San Diego battery lawyer at Mission Personal Injury Lawyers can fight to help you get justice. Contact us at (619) 777-5555 today for a free consultation.
Our lawyers have over 43 years of experience handling complicated personal injury cases–and winning. We’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars since we opened our doors. We can help you hold your attacker and all other responsible parties accountable.
Table of Contents
Why Choose Mission Personal Injury Lawyers for Help With a Battery Injury in San Diego, CA?
When you hire Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, you give yourself the best chance of maximizing your financial award. Our San Diego personal injury lawyers have a 99% track record of success in personal injury cases.
Over the years, we’ve been honored with numerous awards and recognition, including:
- Super Lawyers
- Best Law Firms (U.S. News and World Report)
- The National Trial Lawyers
- American Association for Justice
Assault and battery can leave a victim struggling with a range of physical injuries and mental trauma. Money can’t take away the trauma you experienced, but it can go a long way to help you get back on your feet again. To learn more about how we can help, call our San Diego personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.
Overview of California Laws on Battery
Like every other state, California treats battery as a criminal offense. If the person who harmed you is arrested and convicted, they may face jail time, fines, and a permanent criminal record. While criminal penalties serve justice, they don’t directly address the harm you’ve suffered as a victim.
That’s where California’s civil laws come in. Under state personal injury laws, individuals can be held financially liable for battery—regardless of whether their actions were intentional or simply reckless. This gives victims the opportunity to seek compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of the attack.
How Much is My San Diego Battery Case Worth?
The value of your claim for compensation depends on a number of factors, including:
- The nature and severity of the harm you’ve suffered
- The nature of the at-fault party’s actions
- The strength of the evidence to establish liability
- Your financial costs, including medical costs
- Your lost income, if any
- The pain and trauma you have suffered
- Future impacts caused by a long-term or permanent injury or trauma
- Damage to your quality of life and wellbeing
Because every case is different, the best way to understand what your San Diego battery case may be worth is to consult an experienced attorney who can evaluate the full scope of your damages.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Assault and Battery in San Diego?
Like any car accident victim, victims of battery in California have the right to seek compensation for their economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover your financial expenses. Any type of injury–physical or mental–can result in significant financial losses. As the victim, you don’t have to shoulder those costs alone.
Examples might include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Mental health treatment and specialized therapies
- Lost wages if the trauma prevents you from working
- Reduced earning potential
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing care
- Property damage
By pursuing economic damages, you can recover the financial support you need to move forward and begin rebuilding your life.
Non-Economic Damages
In battery cases, the non-economic damages caused by the ordeal can be substantial–and equally important to your overall compensation award.
Examples of your non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and trauma
- Fear
- PTSD
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Shame and humiliation
- Reduced quality of life
- Physical disfigurement or scarring
- Damaged to personal relationships
Your attacker may even be on the hook for punitive damages. California courts only award punitive damages in the rare case where someone intentionally harms someone or demonstrates extreme disregard for their safety.
Assault and battery cases are one area where the court may order the attacker to pay punitive damages as punishment.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer to Handle My Battery Injury Claim?
At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, we operate on a contingency fee basis. This means you can obtain our legal representation without initial costs.
After we secure compensation in your case, we’ll deduct a percentage. Obviously, if we for some reason cannot recover compensation, you won’t owe us a dime. This structure ensures you can hire an experienced lawyer without worrying about the costs.
Our Attorneys Handle All Types of Battery Injury Claims in San Diego
At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, we handle all types of battery cases, including those involving:
- Muggings and robberies
- Domestic violence
- Bar fights
- Fights between acquaintances
- Bullying
- Police brutality
If you were attacked or threatened with harm, don’t hesitate to reach out to our San Diego battery attorneys today. We’re always here to discuss your case and help you understand your legal options.
Assault and Battery in San Diego Can Cause a Victim to Suffer Significant Harm
Depending on the nature of the attack, any type of injury is possible when you’re a victim of a violent crime, including:
- Facial injuries
- Dental injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Nerve damage
- Soft tissue injuries
- Eye injuries
- Concussions and brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Cuts and lacerations
- Crushing injuries
- Chest injuries
- Degloving injuries
- Catastrophic and life-changing injuries
Battery can also leave victims struggling with severe mental trauma. Victims often experience ongoing fear, depression, anxiety, and shame. You can count on us to factor in these important emotional damages when we’re fighting for your settlement.
What Do I Have to Prove to Recover Compensation for Battery Injuries in San Diego?
The elements of your case depend on the defendant’s identity. Of course, your attacker can be held liable for their intentional wrongdoing. It’s also possible that someone else could be accountable if their actions–or failure to act–allowed the assault and battery to occur.
Elements of the Intentional Tort of Battery in California
Battery is an intentional tort. To recover compensation, you must prove the elements of battery by a preponderance of the evidence. In plain English, you must show that it’s “more likely than not” true that the defendant committed battery against you.
This is a lower standard than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that applies in criminal cases.
More specifically, to recover compensation from your attacker in California, you must prove:
- The defendant touched you, or caused you to be touched
- They intended to harm or offend you
- You did not consent to the touching
- A reasonable person would have been offended by the touching
Assault and battery claims in California are often combined into one legal action. In assault cases, the plaintiff must prove a few additional elements: namely, that you were harmed and that the defendant’s conduct was a substantial factor in causing that harm.
Battery Claims in California May Also Be a Matter of Negligence
There are also times when you may be entitled to sue someone whose actions or omissions directly contributed to your attack.
Depending on how and where you were attacked, the following parties could be legally responsible:
- A business or property owner
- The employer of your attacker
- Sports coaches
- Religious organizations or clergy members
- Colleges and universities
Many times, battery cases involve premises liability. California property owners have a legal responsibility to protect against reasonably foreseeable criminal acts–including assault and battery. If you were attacked while on someone else’s premises, the business or property owner may be responsible for your damages.
Of course, proving liability in these cases is almost always a challenge. Our lawyers are prepared to launch a full investigation to identify all parties who can ultimately be held liable for your damages.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After an Attack in California?
In most cases, California law gives you two years from the date of the attack to file a personal injury lawsuit seeking compensation.
However, there’s an important exception: if your attacker is being prosecuted in a criminal case, the two-year clock is paused (or “tolled”) while the criminal proceedings are ongoing. Once the criminal case concludes, the statute of limitations resumes.
Contact a Dedicated San Diego Battery Lawyer for a Free Case Review Today
If you’ve been the victim of battery in San Diego, you don’t have to face the aftermath alone. At Mission Personal Injury Lawyers, we’re here to fight for the justice and compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free, confidential case review and let a skilled San Diego battery attorney advocate for your rights.
