Just my opinion. I am familiar with courts and lawyers but usually as a witness for the prosecution. With all of the long term problems your son is having I think it would be a good idea to see a lawyer. I would. There are personal injury lawyers who are not just ambulance chasers. They will be able to answer your questions. Like I said most give a free first consult and will work on a contingency basis. It can’t hurt to have that first consult.
Your criminal case seems pretty cut and dried and it doesn’t matter if your son said, “Excuse me” or “Fuck off” as he passed in the hallway. You’re not allowed to sock other people in the nose in this country and get away with it.
As far as the civil claim goes (which is where you sue for monetary compensation of your actual medical bills, in addition to pain and suffering, if applicable), if you’re planning on suing this kid’s parents for anything in excess of a few thousand dollars (each state’s ceiling on what constitutes a small claim is different) then you definitely need an attorney.
I’m assuming you’ve taken pictures? You’ll need them. Also have your son write down everything he remembers about the day in as much detail (including names of people) as possible. You do the same about how he reacted and his emotional state of mind. If it ends up in court, it may be delayed for months or even years and you’ll be surprised at how much you forget.
If you’re considering suing for pain and suffering, you really should see an attorney. Personally, I’d think long and hard about how far I’d want to take it. Your son has to attend school with this gang of kids and as much as we’d like to think that he’ll be protected at school by the administration, I’m not sure I’d trust that. If there’s no permanent damage to his eye, I might be satisfied with medical bills being paid and not antagonize the unstable kid any more than necessary. Then again, I might not be. It’s up to you and your son to decide which route to take.
Thanks for mentioning that. That’s pretty much how we are feeling, but in this case apparently it wasn’t even the words, it was the audacity of him to walk between a certain two tables near the exit of the cafeteria, and not his words. Because I mentioned what you said to him, I just learned that everyone else had walked about a basketball court length and a half down and back out of their way, except TSA. He said he felt it was wrong of them to block the exit and make everyone go around and so he went through, though he did say excuse me.
It really hadn’t occured to me to sue, until the v principal and police officer both mentioned it. I had wondered though if we were entitled to recover the co-pays from the school or the attacker.
We did take pictures. If you would like to see them I will email them to you or make a private album.
I had not thought of this until you mentioned it. TSA has wanted to be a pilot since he could talk. He was due to take his FAA physical this summer and start a flight degree program and flight school in the fall. The last day or so my husband has become concerned TSA won’t pass the vision screen. This will become a much bigger deal to us than the assault itself if TSA cannot follow through on his childhood dream. The boy toured this university’s flight program when he was in the 8th grade.
PunditLisa thank you for your comments and suggestions. Thanks everyone.
Might want to get some background on the offender, for there may be aspects that make him judgement proof. Is the offender an adult or a child, and if an adult, does he have any significant assets? If he is a child, is there any obligation in your jurisdiction for his parents to be liable for his actions, and do they have any significant assets? A lawyer can help you figure out who you have a case against, the probability of success, and the anticipated cost, but just be darn sure before you go down the litigation path that you check to see if there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to be had, or if there is only an empty wallet.
Also might want to find out more about the turf issue. If the staking out of turf and potential for violence was known to the school administration, but not reasonably addressed, then you might be able to drag the school into litigation for being partly to blame. Deep pockets etc. A lawyer could help you look at this possibility.