Florida treats assault and battery as intentional torts. A civil lawsuit is about money damages (and sometimes injunctions), even if there is also a criminal case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Core idea<\/strong>: putting someone in reasonable fear of an imminent harmful contact. Florida\u2019s statutory definition (often used as the working definition in civil cases) requires: Key point<\/strong>: No physical contact is required for assault; the harm is the apprehension\/fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Core idea<\/strong>: intentional harmful or offensive contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida\u2019s statutory definition provides battery occurs when a person: actually and intentionally touches or strikes another against the person\u2019s will, or Intent<\/strong>: The defendant meant the act (or meant to cause the contact\/threat), not necessarily meant to cause injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Common Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida restricts punitive damages in two big ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the plaintiff consented (sports, agreed contact, etc.), that can defeat or limit battery\/assault\u2014 scope matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida provides civil immunity when force is justified under its self-defense statutes. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-deadly force is justified when reasonably necessary to defend against another\u2019s imminent unlawful force; no duty to retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deadly force has stricter conditions. The immunity statute also authorizes fee-shifting (attorney\u2019s fees\/costs) if the court finds the defendant immune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The justification is not available to certain initial aggressors or those committing\/escaping a forcible felony, with limited exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More limited than self-defense; proportionality matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Context-dependent (e.g., certain security or law-enforcement contexts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comparative fault (important nuance)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida\u2019s comparative fault statute does not apply to actions based on intentional torts. So the usual \u201cpercentage fault\u201d reduction you see in negligence cases generally isn\u2019t the framework for pure assault\/battery claims. Defendants instead lean on justification, consent, identity, credibility, and causation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A civil action for assault or battery must generally be filed within 2 years in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (There can be exceptions\/tolling issues in specific circumstances, but 2 years is the standard starting point.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Civil vs. criminal: A criminal case can help with evidence, but civil liability is decided under the preponderance of evidence standard (lower than \u201cbeyond a reasonable doubt\u201d). Who you can sue: The actor, and sometimes others under separate theories (e.g., negligent security, negligent hiring\/supervision). Pure vicarious liability for an employee\u2019s intentional tort can be fact-specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you or someone you know has been involved in an assault, please contact Bobet Law Firm for a free consultation to discuss your rights and potential compensation.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Florida treats assault and battery as intentional torts. A civil lawsuit is about money damages (and sometimes injunctions), even if there is also a criminal case. Civil assault (Florida) Core idea: putting someone in reasonable fear of an imminent harmful contact. Florida\u2019s statutory definition (often used as the working definition in civil cases) requires:an intentional,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":85,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-344","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/344\/revisions\/787"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobetlaw.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
an intentional, unlawful threat (by word or act) to do violence, apparent ability to carry it out, and an act that creates a well-founded fear the violence is imminent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCivil battery (Florida)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
intentionally causes bodily harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key point<\/strong>: Even unwanted touching can qualify\u2014injury is not always required, though injury
affects damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat a plaintiff generally must prove (practical)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Causation and damages<\/strong>: For battery, you typically prove the contact caused harm\/loss; for assault, damages can include emotional distress and other losses from the apprehension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDamages you can seek<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n\n\n\nPunitive Damages (when conduct is egregious)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
showing\u201d of evidentiary basis and get permission to add the claim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
caps in certain financial-gain situations and no cap if there was specific intent to harm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDefenses (and Florida-specific immunities) that often decide these cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1) Consent<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n2) Self-defense \/ defense of others (and \u201cStand Your Ground\u201d civil immunity)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n3) Defense of property<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n4) Privileges \/ justification defenses<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nDeadline to sue (statute of limitations)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nPractical Litigation Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insurance: Many liability policies exclude intentional acts, which affects collectability even if you win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n