Battery is intentional contact with another person that is offensive or harmful to the victim. Physical beating is a classic example of battery, but it is not the only one. Unique forms of battery exist, and they can all give rise to intentional tort claims. Below are examples of these unique forms of battery.
Poisoning a Drink
Poisoning someone with a drink is not only a crime, but it can also give rise to an intentional tort claim. For example, if someone spikes your drink with a drug, you can sue the person for damages related to your poisoning injuries. In this case, the drink is the object with which the battery perpetrator touched their victim.
However, you need to prove that the person intended to poison your drink. An accidental mix-up cannot lead to intentional tot claim because the intent is one of the elements of battery. Note that you can pursue personal injury damages against the perpetrator even if the authorities don't prefer criminal charges against them.
Prank Gone Wrong
Some people find great joy in pranking others. Family members, friends, and work colleagues prank each other all the time — some people even prank strangers. It is all fun until a prank goes wrong and causes injury. In such a case, the injury victim can file a personal injury claim against the pranksters.
Consider an example of a paint bucket prank that goes awry, and the victim slips on the paint, falls, and dislocates their hip. In this case, the paint is the offending object with which the pranksters touch their victim. The victim can file a personal injury claim based on battery.
Road Rage Injuries
Most forms of road rage are relatively tame and involve people yelling at each other. However, some people take it too far and resort to crashing into other cars or even driving people off-road. Such a road rage incident is a clear case of battery using a car as a weapon. Victims of the road rage can sue the perpetrator for damages based on battery laws.
Medical Battery
The last example is that of a medical battery. Medical battery occurs when a medical personnel touches you without your consent. An example is a dentist extracting your tooth without consent. Another example is a doctor removing a wart or injecting you with a drug without your consent.
Medical battery is different from medical malpractice. Medical malpractice arises because of negligence, while medical battery arises because of intentional touching.
If you were the victim of any of these forms of battery, contact a personal injury lawyer near you.
Share9 April 2020
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