Legal Question in Personal Injury in Pennsylvania
My son was assaulted (punched in face) do I have legal recourse?
On June 4th my son Brandon (13) was at a fair and in the midway was approached by another boy, from his school, and his "gang" this boy punched Brandon in the face. Brandon didnot fight back because he was out numbered. He just walked away but was approached again about 30-45 min later and again punched inthe face twice this time and again he didnot fight back.
Well later that evening when I found out I talked him into reporting the insidence to the police. Charges were filed and a fine issued. Now we want to persue this further in civil court. Could we, should we and what could the results be?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: My son was assaulted (punched in face) do I have legal recourse?
Assuming that your son was not at fault, you do have a claim. Obviously, the criminal case will resolve the issue of fault. The obvious problem in an assault case is that the primary responsible party is the person who committed the assault. Most of the time a claim against such a person is not pursued because there would be no way to collect any judgement. Insurance would not cover an intentional act. The parents could be responsible if they failed to control a child with a history of assaults, however, this is a difficult theory to pursue. The Fair could be responsible if they failed to have adequate security. Therefore, the bottom line is that an attorney would more likely look into this if the injuries were severe and the Fair could be held liable. If the injuries were minor or healed, let the criminal courts handle the matter.