Assault and Battery Lawyer in Los Angeles

If you decide to move forward with working with our team at MKP Law Group, LLP, a skilled attorney for assault victims will be assigned and dedicated to your case.

Our team represents injury victims throughout the state of California. We at MKP Law Group, LLP strive to make the process and legal procedures as easy as possible for you. For experienced, attentive, dependable, and tenacious representation call us today at 310-870-3395 to schedule your 100% free consultation.

Understanding Your Rights as an Assault & Battery Victim

Has someone intentionally harmed you or threatened you with violence in Los Angeles? As a victim of assault and battery, you have significant legal rights that extend beyond criminal prosecution. Understanding these rights is the first step toward receiving the compensation and justice you deserve.

At MKP Law Group, LLP, we believe informed clients make better decisions. That’s why we’re committed to helping you understand your legal options clearly and comprehensively.

California’s Strict Liability Laws for Physical Injuries

California law strongly protects victims of intentional harm. Unlike negligence cases where fault can be shared, California applies “strict liability” principles in many assault and battery situations. This means the person who harmed you can be held fully accountable for your injuries regardless of other circumstances.

For battery cases specifically, California Civil Code §1708.5 allows victims to seek compensation without having to prove the attacker intended to cause the specific harm that resulted. Our experienced attorneys know how to leverage these laws to build the strongest possible case for your compensation.

Time Limitations for Filing Assault & Battery Claims

Acting promptly after an assault or battery incident is crucial to protecting your rights. In California, most assault and battery civil claims must be filed within two years of the incident. This legal deadline, known as the “statute of limitations,” can permanently bar your right to compensation if missed.

Certain exceptions may apply that could extend this timeframe, particularly for minors or in cases of domestic violence. Don’t risk losing your right to compensation—contact our Los Angeles assault and battery lawyers immediately to ensure your claim is filed properly.

Criminal Prosecution vs. Civil Compensation

Many assault and battery victims don’t realize they can pursue both criminal and civil cases simultaneously. These legal pathways serve different purposes:

Criminal cases are prosecuted by the state against the attacker, seeking punishment through fines or imprisonment. While this may deliver justice, it typically doesn’t provide financial compensation to victims.

Civil cases are initiated by you (the victim) against the attacker, seeking financial compensation for your injuries and losses. This path focuses on making you whole again financially.

Our attorneys at MKP Law Group, LLP work alongside criminal prosecutors to ensure both justice and maximum compensation. Remember, even if a criminal case doesn’t result in a conviction, you may still prevail in your civil case due to the lower burden of proof required.

Why You Need an Assault and Battery Lawyer in Los Angeles

Has someone intentionally threatened to injure you, menaced you, physically injured you, or traumatized you by suggesting violence?

If so, you are a victim of assault and, possibly, battery, and you have legal rights.

Victims of battery and assault don’t only suffer physical damages. Often, there is severe psychological and emotional trauma that can be even more damaging and lasting.

This unlawful trauma is wrong.

Most victims of assault and battery wrongly believe that criminal prosecution against the individual who committed the assault or battery is the only justice afforded to them. Victims are often surprised to learn that they can file a civil suit, in addition to the criminal case, against their attacker.

At our law firm, we want to be the people to help you through this difficult time and right those wrongs.

Victims have the right to receive damages following these crimes So, if you or a family member is the victim of an assault and battery case, you need to contact MKP Law Group, LLP in Beverly Hills today. Our attorneys are ready to vigorously pursue justice for you.

California Law: Differences Between Assault and Battery Cases

Assault and battery are often used interchangeably but they are actually distinct legal concepts and are treated as separate causes of action under California law. Both are types of intentional torts, which are distinct from negligent torts where the wrongful actor’s conduct is unintentional, but they deal with two different types of wrongful conduct. Intentional torts require the plaintiff to prove that the defendant intentionally tried to harm the victim.

Here are the descriptions and some examples of assault and battery:

Assault: Assault is an intentional act that causes fear of impending harm. There does not need to be actual, physical contact in order for a victim to bring a lawsuit for assault. An example of an assault would be someone pointing a gun at you, which could constitute assault with a deadly weapon, or raising their fists and threatening to hit you. The threat of physical contact can be real or implied.

Battery: Battery occurs when there is actual physical contact that causes bodily harm. If an assault is the threat of harmful contact, the battery is the actual harmful strike or contact. Almost every battery also entails an assault, and both are intentional acts.

Multiple Party Assault and Battery Cases

There are arguments that defendants, the person accused of committing an assault or battery, can make as part of their defense strategy that serve as valid excuses for their conduct.

Common defenses and situational examples of assault and battery cases include:

Consent: If the victim of an assault or battery agreed to the harmful or offensive contact beforehand, then they will likely lose their assault and battery case.

Example: A boxer who agrees to a fight consents to the possibility of being injured during the boxing match and therefore cannot sue his opponent for any damages sustained in the fight.

Privilege: Privilege is a right or advantage gained as a result of a position.

Example: Police officers attempting to break up a fight or enforce an arrest warrant may technically commit an assault or battery through their use of force, but their actions would be considered privileged if they used a reasonable amount of force during the course and scope of their employment. However, an off-duty officer who gets into a fight unrelated to their official duties would not be able to claim the defense of privilege.

Self-Defense/Defense of Others: If a person is acting in self-defense or in the defense of others in responding appropriately to a threat of harm, such actions may absolve the actor of any liability for an assault or battery.

The use of force must be reasonable, meaning it is not excessive and was done in response to a real threat of danger.

Common Arguments of Assault and Battery Defendants

There may be instances where there are multiple parties that can be held responsible for injuries sustained in an assault or battery.

The most obvious defendant in an assault or battery case is the individual person who commits the act of violence or threatens to commit violence. However, third parties like businesses, bars, and other businesses may also be liable for injuries sustained in an assault and battery if they failed to provide adequate security or otherwise reduce the risk of an attack.

Do Assault and Battery Cases Go to Civil or Criminal Court?

Oftentimes the person committing an assault or battery can face two lawsuits simultaneously, a criminal case and a civil case.

The definitions of assault and batteries differ state-to-state but each is a crime that can be prosecuted by the state seeking to impose criminal charges on the wrongful actor.

A civil case, brought by the victim of an assault or battery, can be filed in civil court and occur at the same time as the criminal case. Unlike a criminal case that deals with criminal charges, a civil case brought by the victim is to recover monetary damages to compensate the victim for injuries and losses caused by the assault or battery.

While it is the state that determines whether to bring a criminal case, which the perpetrator may fight with a criminal defense attorney, the victim gets to decide whether to bring a civil suit for damages stemming from an assault or battery, usually by hiring an assault and battery lawyer.

Civil cases and criminal cases have different burdens of proof. The burden of proof is the level of proof a party must establish in order to win their case.

The burden of proof in criminal courts is beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a much higher burden to satisfy than the civil standard of preponderance of the evidence. The preponderance of the evidence is met whenever the party demonstrates by more than a 50% chance that the defendant committed or intended to commit the assault or battery.

What Damages Can Attorneys Recover for Battery and Assault Victims?

Assault and batteries can produce serious physical injuries that can last a lifetime, as well as serious psychological trauma.