If I was assaulted by 2 people at a club strip, what can I do?
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If I was assaulted by 2 people at a club strip, what can I do?
I went to the club strip for a friend’s birthday. At around 3:30 am my partner and I were at the taxi rank. I fight broke out between myself and 2 other men. The both of them were arrested on the night. After, in the CCTV footage according to the officer, there is no footage of the start of the fight, which I cannot remember myself. All that you can see on the CCTV is me getting attacked by both people at the same time who work in the Australian Army. I now have bruised ribs, a black eye, bruising on the white of my eye and a broken nose. I was also knocked unconscious for a minute or so. I just want to know where I stand in terms of pressing charges and what the result would be. If there’s any personal injury compensation for me and what the punishment for them would be. After the fight happened I was sitting at a rest and recovery tent, still very out of it and my partner was hyperventilating according the the officer as he told me today, I wanted to talk to her and the officer was telling me to giver her a minute but in the state I was in, both drunk and obviously still not 100% there after the fight, I allegedly threw my cup of water in the police officers face, whilst attempting to barge past to talk to my partner, which resulted in the officer trying to grab me and me tearing his shirt before another officer put me down. I am now being charged with assaulting a police officer. However the officer did state that I will more than likely only receive a fine and no criminal charges as I didn’t throw any punches or physically hurt him. Basically I just want to know where I stand and if I need to see a lawyer about both of these instances. I don’t have a lot of money and can’t really afford one at this point in time, so as much advice as possible would be amazing.
Also I’m from QLD, Australia
Asked on March 15, 2017 under Personal Injury, Alaska
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Since the men who assaulted you were arrested, you can certainly press charges against them, and should: pressing charges will add legitimacy to your case if you sue them for your injuries (since if you don't press charges, the obvious question becomes: "if you say they assaulted you, why did you you not press charges"--and not having a good answer will undercut your credibility).
You can sue them for your out-of-pocket medical costs and for "pain and suffering" IF your injuries have resulted in long-lasting (months or longer) significant life impairment or disabiity. However, to sue for injuries (not just medical costs), you will need to hire a medical expert (doctor) to testify, so it's generally only worthwhile if your injuries or medical costs are extensive.
You probably should retain an attorney to defend you against assaulting the officer: while you might get just a fine, potentially you can be failed for this, and you will want a lawyer to assist you.
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