Unit 10 torts that Injure Persons

Assault and battery can be both crimes and intentional torts. A battery is an act intended to cause a harmful or offensive contact with another person. An assault is a threat or attempt to commit a battery that puts the victim in fear of immediate harm. If Jerry raises his fist and threatens to slug Sy, there is an assault if Sy reasonably fears being hit. If Jerry connects, there is also a battery.

Assume that Tim pulled a chair out from under Jeb as he was getting ready to sit down. This is a battery, even though Tim did not touch Jeb, because there was an act (pulling the chair out) intended to cause a harmful contact (Jeb hitting the floor). Tim would be liable to Jeb even if he was just playing a joke on his friend.

The intent required for an intentional tort is not a bad motive or even the desire to do harm. It is simply the intent to bring about a result that invades the legal rights of another person. In this example, we are not concerned about whether Tim meant to cause Jeb any harm, but rather whether Tim acted in a way that was intended to cause Jeb to fall and hence to invade Jeb’s rights (i.e., his right not to fall when he sat down).

The damage award for an assault or a battery depends on the seriousness of the injury. For an assault, the plaintiff can recover damages for mental disturbance, such as fright or embarrassment, along with any physical illness that directly results from the assault. The damages recoverable from a battery are those for any harm caused by the physical contact.

Damages for a battery are usually greater than for assault, but not always. For example, threatening to kill someone by shooting but just missing the person may cause more harm than giving a person a slight shove.

Recognition vocabulary

nouns	verbs	adjectives
assault - нападение, сильное оскорбление и угроза физическим насилием battery - побои, избиение contract - контракт threat - угроза attempt - попытка fear - страх fist - кулак desire - желание right - право damage - ущерб award - (присужденная) награда или наказание seriousness - серьезность injure - вред; телесное повреждение plaintiff - истец disturbance - нарушение fright - испуг embarrassment - смятение illness - заболевание shove - толчок intent - намерение, цель	put - ставить raise - поднимать threaten - угрожать slug - сильно бить кулаком fear - бояться connect - связывать, соединять assume - предполагать pull - тянуть get ready - приготовиться play a joke - шутить bring about - вызывать, быть причиной invade - вторгаться, посягать на права fall - падать intend - намереваться hit - ударять(ся) mean - иметь в виду, подразумевать act - действовать defend - зависеть recover damages - взыскивать убытки result - явиться результатом shoot - стрелять miss - промахнуться	intentional - умышленный harmful - вредный offensive - оскорбительный liable - ответственный immediate - немедленный legal - законный mental - умственный slight - легкий concerned - озабоченный, заинтересованный