Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney

Assault

Assault is the common law tort of intentionally causing another person reasonable apprehension of an immediate harmful contact. Because assault requires the assaulter to have had the intention of doing something, it is an intentional tort rather than a tort of negligence.

For assault to take place, actual ability to carry out the harmful contact is not necessary. If a person has a toy gun that looks real and brandishes it as one would brandish a real one, it is frequently possible for that person to be seen as guilty of committing assault. That person intended to scare or threaten another by carrying the toy gun.

Unlike battery, there does not need to be actual contact. There only needs to be intent and the apprehension that resulted from some sort of threat. As an example, wielding a knife can be considered assault if a fearful situation ensued.

The law varies by jurisdiction but contact is commonly defined as “harmful” if it objectively intends to injure, to disfigure, to impair, or to cause pain to another person. An act is “offensive” if it is capable of offending a reasonable person’s sense of personal dignity. “Imminence” is judged objectively and varies widely on a case-by-case basis, but it generally suggests there is little to no opportunity for intervening acts. Finally, “apprehension” is different from the general state of fear. Apprehension requires the person to be aware of the immediate possibility of a harmful or offensive act, not actual be scared of it.

If you have been threatened by an individual or would like more information on assault and other intentional torts, contact Jacksonville personal injury attorney Donald Guthrie at 904-296-1088.