so, last night i was sitting at a local taco shop around midnight with three female friends. in the middle of our meal, a guy in his mid 20’s comes up to me and asks me if we knew eachother from somewhere. i didn’t recognize him, and told him ‘no, i don’t think so.’ he then asked me, ‘what high school did you go to?’ and in the middle of my reply, he punched me in the face, then ran out the door. i, not having anything to prove by getting myself in a fight, tended to my bleeding face while a guy i had met a few hours prior went outside to see where the assaulter went. i couldn’t see what happened, but my new friend came back in with a bleeding face of his own, so i called the police (the employees of the taco shop had not done so).
while on the phone with the dispatcher, the man who assaulted me came back in, and went into the bathroom, where he and his friend once again became engaged in fighting with my new friend.
when the police got there, they talked to me and friends, and also a few people from the crowd who had witnessed the whole thing. i pressed assault charges against the bastard, and they took him into custody. the other guy who had been assaulted also pressed charges against both of the two guys who beat him up.
now, i’m not a greedy person, but i’m thinking to myself, ‘self, not only should you make sure these assholes go to jail, but maybe you should sue them and the taco shop.’ i don’t know laws on this kind of stuff, but i would think that the taco shop should have at least called the police when the guy hit me. as for the asshole who hit me, my fucking face hurts and i want him to pay for it for a long time. so, lawyers, police officers, people who aren’t as mad as me and therefore are thinking clearly, tell me what you think i should do. that, or just make me feel better by sympathizing with me.
Definitely follow through with the criminal charges. And I’d suggest you consult an attorney on the feasibility of filing suit against your assailant as well as the restaurant. A lawyer would be able to tell you if it would be worthwhile to pursue.
i’m going to get my face x rayed (i’m at work in a hospital). i’ll let you know how it turns out.
I know that you want this guy’s life to be a living hell, but I would wait for a little bit before deciding to sue him. I’m not condoning his actions, but you really have no clue why this guy did what he did to you. He could be having some major problems in his life that caused him to get to this violent level and you could be adding to them by suing him. Maybe he was high, or drunk, or just found out he has terminal cancer. I would try to communicate with the guy (in some fashion that is calm and safe!) first before persuing that course of action to find out why he hit you, but definately press criminal charges.
Hey amati!
How are you doing? I hope your face is ok. I would talk to the police and DA and see what kind of prosecution is going to happen to this jerk.
That’s pretty messed up stuff, but assault and battery is pretty low on the scale of punishable crime. I’m guessing that if you really want to make them pay, you’ll have to go for a lawyer.
Good lord, about where do you live, anyway? In Michigan, if anybody tried that, it’d turn the neighborhood into a dmz.
I don’t care if the guy’s wife just left him and his dog died (or vice versa), he broke the law and should be prosecuted, criminally and civilly. He had NO right and NO excuse to do what he did. Nobody has the right EVER to assault anyone and get away with it.
The idea of excusing behavior like this (oh the poor person) pisses me off more than just about anything. I judge people by what they do, not their damn excuses (or reasons).
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Press Charges. The guy needs to be punished and this is the only way to do so without you facing jail time.
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Sue the guy if you think it will help. The guy could be a punk, but he could also just be trying to prove that he can get away with it.
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Don’t sue the taco shop. They had no control over the guy that punched you. It extreme matters employees are going to act according to their true nature. These kids simply watched as most kids would do. Now if someone told the kids to call the cops and they didn’t do so, then sue the kids. But leave the taco shop alone.
my $0.02
amati, wow, that’s rough. I hope you’re okay. No, there is no excuse for what he did, I don’t give a damn if all those things happened to him and all in one day. Prosecute.
You are absolutely right. He should be punished for assaulting you and the others involved. I never said that you should excuse his behavior. All I said was find out what his motivation was for doing what he did before going legal crazy on this guy. Again I will say it: He should be punished. It’s just that from your OP, I can’t help but look at this guy with pity. He is a sorry excuse for a human being and if it were me, I would press the assault charges and leave him to his pathetic puny little problems.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Dragwyr *
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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas *
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<Snipped quote>
Dragwyr,
I just wanted to point out that the quote in your post is a reply to the OP by Annie-Xmas and not a reply to you from the OP.
Amati,
Sorry to hear about that incident. Prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and consult a lawyer if you’d like to sue the bastard. I agree with the earlier poster who suggested not suing the taco shop. I don’t think it was there fault in any way. It sucks that their employees (probably teens) didn’t call the police, but I don’t think that makes them liable. Also, check to see if your city, county, and / or state has Victims of Crime compensation you can apply for.
I hope your bruises (physical and emotional) get better soon.
Not only do I think you should prosecute and sue, but I think it’s your responsibility to do so. This is a society we live in, and we can’t have people walking around doing the things you described. It’s our responsibility as citizens to take action to stop it. In this case, you have actions that are available to you. Take them.
And shame on whoever else was in that taco shop that didn’t lift a finger to help you.
Nonesense…The Taco Shop is responsible for the actions of thier employees. They should have been on the phone with the cops the second it happened. They should have locked the doors to keep this psycho out. The saftey of thier customers is thier responsability. They should pay, as well as the psycho.
That’s terrible, amati. I hope you feel better, and hope nothing is broken!
The Taco shop will probably have Commercial General Liability insurance. Employees are (in general) covered as additional insureds with respect to liability. Part of the coverage of the policy is worded thusly:
Negligence shall be excluded.
In Black’s Law Dictionary, negligence is defined as:
“The failure to do or not to do what a reasonable and prudent person would do in the same circumstance”
I don’t think their insurance would respond here. Good luck.
thank all of you for being supportive, and helpful. i talked last night to a police officer who said that i have no basis on which to sue the taco shop, which is fine with me, because i felt like that may have been a little greedy. i was pissed because i’m pretty sure that the guy that hit me was a friend of the guy working the counter, and in that case, the workers didn’t call because they were protecting their friend, even after he attacked two people in three instances inside their damn store. maybe i’ll just write a letter to the owner or manager of the store. the po also told me that, depending on this guy’s previous record, he may not serve any time at all. which would really piss me off. i didn’t get an x-ray last night because the damn tech wouldn’t do it under the table for me and i don’t have any health insurance. i guess if i decide to sue (i don’t have the money to hire a lawyer) then the cost will be covered, that is, if i win. my nose still hurts more than the rest of my face, but it hasn’t swollen to the size i’d expect if it were broken. as for the criminal charges, do i need a lawyer to prosecute this guy, or will that be covered by the court system?
Why not write some letters to the Judge Judy type shows explaining the circumstances, and that you want to sue him for whatever, but you don’t have the money to hire a lawyer and are hoping they can help you by putting you on the show. Or find a lawyer that will work for a piece of the final settlment with no upfront costs?
–Tim
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*Originally posted by tevya *
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Thanks. I realized the error after the fact. My mistake.
I agree with Homer, find a lawyer that will work for a percentage of the settlement.
No you don’t need to hire a lawyer but talk to the police and find out who in the DA (district attorney) office is handling the case. Call them or better visit them and they will be more likely to push for a tougher punishment.
If you want to sue the guy in civil court then you will need to hire an lawyer.
Good luck and I hope your face feels better.
Huh. I just saw Fight Club for the first time last. I could picture macho gullible idiots getting ideas to do just this sort of thing from watching that movie. Losers.