Fort Lauderdale Personal Injury attorneys are always disturbed when hearing about physical attacks and injuries inflicted upon the elderly. On Saturday, a 70-year-old woman was injured when two unknown culprits struck her on the left side of her head with a soda can during a robbery attempt. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the woman was walking near an apartment complex in Orlando when the two attackers jumped her from behind in an attempt to rob her, struck her and then fled away after discovering she did not possess any money. The Orlando woman has not been able to provide police with a physical description of the guilty parties because she could not see them well enough.
Hopefully, someone observed this assault and will soon provide the police with information that will lead to their arrests. According to The National Center For Victims of Crime, eleven percent of the elderly are likely to suffer from physical abuse. Additionally, 67% of older woman are more likely than men (32%) to suffer from any abuse, and our Fort Lauderdale civil assault lawyers represent elderly sufferers who have been injured in an assault incident.
Many people are of the belief that a perpetrator of a physical assault can only be punished through the criminal justice system. However, in our American civil jurisprudence, a battery is an area of tort law which was established under the common law legal system to hold those accountable who impose an intentional offensive or uninvited physical touching upon another. However, there are circumstances when the wrongdoer does not inflict any physical contact, but uses words of threats to cause an apprehension of imminent harm upon a person. In so doing, his or her conduct is considered an assault. However, under Florida law, the torts of assault and battery are usually combined in a civil lawsuit to hold an individual liable for the injuries and damages another has sustained during an unpleasant incident.
Generally, the elements of battery require that a person prove that the wrongdoer committed a touching which was offensive and did not have consent. Further, the offensive or harmful touching must have caused a person to sustain injuries. It is important to point out that not all touching are considered a battery. There are situations in which a person implies consent to physical contact, such as in the sport of football. Since football is a contact sport, players understand that physical contact is part of the game, however, it is when one exceeds the scope of the contact consented to, he or she may be liable for the tort of battery.
It is always prudent to seek the advice of a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney when you or a loved one has been injured as a result of an assault and battery occurrence. And particularly when an incident involves the elderly. Such persons usually incur significant medical costs, pain and suffering; and income loss when someone has caused them injury. And, there may be monetary damages a tortfeasor will have to pay as a result of their conduct.
See Our Related Blog Posts:
Fort Lauderdale Elder and Mentally Ill Abuse
Personal Injury to Florida Woman During Surgical Procedure
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