Assault & Battery

What Is Assault and Battery?

In general, assault and battery is when you experience a physical injury due to another person’s actions.

Assault and battery are two closely linked legal terms, but they represent different forms of harm. Understanding these differences is a key step in seeking justice.

Explore assault and battery meanings below:

• Assault: This is an intentional act that causes fear of imminent harm, according to Cornell Law School. Notably, no physical touch is required for an action to be considered assault.
• Battery: Battery occurs when someone intentionally makes physical contact with you without your consent.

Assault and battery can have long-term consequences, leading to serious injuries like broken bones or lacerations, as well as mental health conditions like depression and anxiety

Whether you have experienced assault, battery, or both, know that you don’t have to face it alone. The Victim Advocacy Center is ready to support you or someone you love in the wake of an assault.

Get a free case review now to see how we can help you or a loved one.

What Does Assault Mean for Survivors?

Assault can leave survivors feeling violated, scared, and powerless. Even if no physical contact occurs, verbal threats or gestures can lead to long-term emotional trauma.

Here are some examples to help you understand what qualifies as assault:

• Threatening gestures: Someone raises their fist or moves aggressively toward you, making you fear they might strike you.
• Use of weapons: Pointing a weapon, even without firing it.
• Verbal threats: Words like, “I’ll hurt you” or “You’ll regret this,” said in a way that makes you believe harm is imminent.

Assault — even without battery — can be considered a crime. For instance, a man in New Jersey was arrested in 2025 on charges of assault. He is accused of lunging and verbally threatening a hospital employee.

If you’ve experienced any of these scenarios, your fear and discomfort are valid, and you have every right to take action.

What Does Battery Mean?

Unlike assault, battery involves physical contact. For victims, this can range from unwanted touching to severe physical harm. But battery is about more than just injuries — it’s about the violation of your right to feel safe in your body.

Just a few types of battery include:

• Physical strikes: Hitting, kicking or spitting on another person.
• Pushing or shoving: Unwanted shoving or pushing, regardless of whether it leaves a mark.
• Use of objects: Throwing something or using an object to harm another person, including bottles, baseball bats, rocks, or virtually anything else.

In 2025, a California woman was charged with multiple counts of battery as well as assault with a deadly weapon after police received a report of elder abuse. The woman allegedly harmed an older man in an ongoing pattern of physical abuse.

Call (877) 684-0487 now if you’ve experienced assault or battery. We’re here to help you pick up the pieces and get the resources you need to move forward.

Assault and Battery Charges and Protections

As a survivor of assault and battery, the law is designed to protect you. Legal consequences like criminal charges for perpetrators depend on the severity of their actions, whether they used a weapon, their intent, and more.

Potential assault and battery sentences can range from misdemeanors (which are less serious, like a verbal threat) to felonies (which are more serious, for example, assault with a deadly weapon).

Perpetrators of assault and battery may face:

• Fines: Misdemeanor assault fines can range from $500 to $5,000. For more serious cases, such as aggravated assault, fines may exceed $10,000. Fines for battery can range from $1,000 for misdemeanors to $20,000 or more for felony cases involving serious bodily injury.
• Imprisonment: Jail time for simple assault may be up to 1 year, while aggravated assault could lead to years in prison. A misdemeanor battery conviction can result in up to 1 year in jail, while a felony battery conviction may lead to several years in prison.
• Probation: Perpetrators may be required to complete anger management programs or community service.
• Civil lawsuits: Survivors can sue for medical expenses, emotional distress, and punitive damages designed to punish perpetrators.

Some states separate assault and battery into different crimes, while others do not. However, no matter which state you live in, know that laws can help bring perpetrators of violent crime to justice if you’ve been harmed.

Steps to Take After Assault & Battery

If you have been the victim of assault and battery, taking immediate action can protect your rights and support your recovery.

Here’s what you can do following assault and battery:

• Ensure your safety: Remove yourself from the situation and seek safety. If necessary, call 911 for immediate assistance.
• Document the incident: Write down everything you remember, including details about the perpetrator and any witnesses.
• Seek medical attention: Even if injuries seem minor, getting a medical evaluation can provide important evidence for your case.
• Contact law enforcement: File a police report as soon as possible to document the incident formally.
• Get legal help: Contact an experienced assault and battery attorney to understand your options for seeking justice and compensation.
• Explore resources: It can take a long time to recover mentally, as well as physically, from assault and battery, but resources are available to help you move forward.

At the Victim Advocacy Center, we believe all survivors should have the chance to seek justice for battery & assault. Get a free case review now to see how we can assist you or a loved one.

How an Assault and Battery Lawyer Can Help

If you’ve experienced assault and battery, it’s important to explore your legal options. Top assault and battery lawyers can help you file civil lawsuits against the perpetrators so you can pursue financial compensation.

Suing someone for assault and battery can be much easier with an attorney by your side, as they’ll take on the work for you.

Assault and battery victim lawyers can help you:

1. Determine if you can file an assault and battery civil lawsuit
2. Gather evidence and build an assault and battery lawsuit for you
3. File the lawsuit in the correct court system and within set deadlines
4. Pursue the highest payouts possible in your case

The personal injury lawyers in our network have decades of experience standing up for the rights of people harmed through no fault of their own, and may be able to assist you after assault and battery.

Find Support After Aggravated Assault and Battery

You didn’t deserve to suffer assault and battery, and you may have a long road to recover physically as a result of the harm done. Your mental health may also be impacted, as assault and battery can cause trauma, depression, and anxiety.

At the Victim Advocacy Center, we work to support survivors like you in any way we can.

Our team is here to:

• Listen to your story with compassion
• Connect you with attorneys who can pursue compensation for you
• Explain how assault and battery laws may affect your case
• Provide key resources after surviving assault and battery

Get a free case review or call (877) 684-0487 to work with us to get the justice you deserve if assault and battery has impacted your life.