Intentional Torts / Assault

New Jersey Assault Lawyers

The term “intentional torts” is exactly what it sounds like – a person is injured or sustains damage to their property because the defendant intentionally harms them. Many personal injury lawyers will decline cases like these since insurance generally will not cover intentional acts, and most people who intentionally hurt others are not in a position to write an injured person a check for the damages. But at Raff & Raff, we are more than happy to meet with injured individuals and evaluate their potential case.

One of the most common types of intentional tort case is a case of assault. Obviously, when a person hits, kicks, punches, pushes, etc. another person, they have committed an assault. But assault cases also include cases where someone throws an object at another person, poisons another, dumps liquids or other objects on another, or does similar types of wrongful conduct. But it is only considered an assault if the defendant touched the plaintiff on purpose (the defendant does not need to intend to actually hurt the plaintiff – it is no excuse to argue that you hit a person but did not mean to hurt them). If it was just an accident, then the case would be a negligence case, either a general negligence case, premises liability case, or perhaps an automobile negligence case.

Sometimes a person may intend to hit or otherwise injure another person, but they were drunk at the time. Depending on how much alcohol they had to drink, there may be a claim against the bar or person who served them under the Dram Shop Act.

It’s also important to understand that a business or other type of employer may be liable for an assault or other kind of intentional tort. Generally, an employer is not responsible for the intentional torts or assaults committed by an employee. This follows the general common-law of New Jersey that provides that a principal is generally not responsible for the torts of an agent. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court recognizes that an employer is responsible for assaults (and other intentional torts) committed by an employee if it is within the scope of the employment, and in cases where the employer negligently hired and supervised the employee. The quintessential example is the case of an employer who hires a security guard who is known to have a history of violence, and the security guard injures someone by using excessive force to eject the person from the premises. However, this exception usually cannot be used to sue the government for intentional assaults committed by government employees, officers, or agents because the government is usually immune from such law suits. But the United States Supreme Court held in the seminal case of Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Agents that the agents themselves can be sued.

Intentional Tort Lawyer Approach (Why Us?)

Again, many lawyers shy away from these cases because recovering money could be very difficult (or impossible) since insurance does not usually cover intentional acts. But that does not mean that an assault case is not worth pursuing. Many assault cases – especially if there are witnesses – are not difficult to win. This is especially true if the defendant was charged with a crime and either pled guilty or convicted. The problem is usually in collecting money from the defendant. And if the defendant simply has no money or assets, you may just be out of luck. This is why it is important to locate all assets early on, so you know what your options are.

Intentional Tort/Assault Lawyer Free Consultation

If you have been injured in an assault or other intentional tort and would like to know whether you have a case against, you should contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION with one of our attorneys. We have been protecting the rights of people injured in car accidents since 1922, and we are very experienced with assault and other intentional tort cases, especially in Passaic County, Bergen County, Essex County, Union County, and Hudson County, where our attorneys regularly appear in court and regularly interact with the lawyers for the insurance companies.

Remember, the insurance companies have teams of skilled attorneys who are aggressively representing their interests, and you should too.

Raff & Raff, LLP
Attorneys at Law
30 Church Street
Paterson, NJ 07505

Tel: (973) 742-1917
Fax: (973) 742-2454

Based in Paterson, New Jersey, Raff & Raff, LLP services clients in the communities of Bloomingdale, Clifton, Haledon, Hawthorne, Little Falls, Passaic, Paterson, Pompton Lakes, Prospect Park, Ringwood, Totowa, Wanaque, Wayne, West Milford, Woodland Park, Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Carlstadt, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, East Rutherford, Edgewater, Elmwood Park, Emerson, Englewood, Fair Lawn, Fort Lee, Franklin Lakes, Garfield, Glenn Rock, Hackensack, Hasbrouck Heights, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Leonia, Little Ferry, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Mahwah, Maywood, Midland Park, Montvale, Moonachie, New Milford, North Arlington, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Oradell, Palisades Park, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ridgefield, Ridgewood, River Edge, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Rockleigh, Rutherford, Saddle Brook, Saddle River, Teaneck, Tenafly, Teterboro, Waldwick, Wallington, Westwood, Wood-Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Wyckoff, Belleville, Bloomfield, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Orange, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Irvington, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, Newark, North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, Verona, Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, Secaucus, Kearney, Harrison, North Bergen, Weehawken, Elizabeth, Linden, Plainsfield, Rahway, Union, Scotch Plains, Clark, Cranford, Hillside, Westfield, Roselle, and surrounding areas.