attacked

harr

hi
Hope someone can help me a question i have.A friend owns a small sweet sweet shop in the west and he only works alone in the shop.
On Friday evening around four when the shop was quiet busy a very drunk man came in looking to buy alcohol and was informed that the shop does not sell alcohol after this the man became quiet aggressive and started to square up to my friend and was refusing to leave the shop at this stage my friend rang the guards but they would be around 20 minutes or so before they got there.
The man drove away after about 15 minutes in the shop but returned 5 mins later started at my friend again but this time he made a lunge at him my friend in self defence garbed the man and put him to the floor and held him there till the guards got there.The guards arrested the man after a good bit of a struggle and took a statement from my friend and that was the last he heard of it till today when he got a phone call form the man saying that he had hurt his neck badly when my friend put him to the floor and that he was going to sue him and to expect a letter form his solister in the coming days.
My friend is now worried sick in case he could sue him, he barely earns enough to keep food on the table for his family at the moment.
There is no cctv in the shop.what should his next step be baring in mind the cost.

MagicSean

Find out what stage the prosecution is at.

234

They could just be empty threats but if your friend does get a solicitors letter then he should see a solicitor (a different one, obviously) immediately.

GerardKeating

harr wrote: »

hi
Hope someone can help me a question i have.A friend owns a small sweet sweet shop in the west and he only works alone in the shop.
On Friday evening around four when the shop was quiet busy a very drunk man came in looking to buy alcohol and was informed that the shop does not sell alcohol after this the man became quiet aggressive and started to square up to my friend and was refusing to leave the shop at this stage my friend rang the guards but they would be around 20 minutes or so before they got there.
The man drove away after about 15 minutes in the shop but returned 5 mins later started at my friend again but this time he made a lunge at him my friend in self defence garbed the man and put him to the floor and held him there till the guards got there.The guards arrested the man after a good bit of a struggle and took a statement from my friend and that was the last he heard of it till today when he got a phone call form the man saying that he had hurt his neck badly when my friend put him to the floor and that he was going to sue him and to expect a letter form his solister in the coming days.
My friend is now worried sick in case he could sue him, he barely earns enough to keep food on the table for his family at the moment.
There is no cctv in the shop.what should his next step be baring in mind the cost.

As another poster mentioned, your friend should get legal advise, I am sure the unprovoked assault from this drunk has cause untold stress, PTSD, restless nights etc, maybe even a sore neck. He should consider a counter-suit for all he has suffered, which might put manners on the drunk.

Laisurg

Your friend would have had to slam him on the ground with a fair bit of force to injure his neck, it would be a bit easier if there was cctv to prove it was self defense but if the guards got there and the guy put up a struggle i doubt he would be the kind of guy to go and try get your friend prosecuted, these types of people are always full of empty threats, if the guy actually did go to a solicitor then he either lied like hell or told him the truth in which case the solicitor would probably tell him he doesn't have a chance.

harr

Thanks for the replys, just got off the phone with my friend to find out some more details.He has now spoke to the guards who arrested the individual.
He has been charged with drink driving,resisting arrest and causing damage to the shop.The sergeant he spoke does not think there is anything to worry about regarding the man making a claim because he put up such a fight when he was brought into custody and that he could have injured his neck at any stage with the struggle also he said the same individual was involved in an altercation in the town earlier in the day.
He has advised my friend to speak to a solicitor just to be on the safe side and also advised him to get some sort of cctv in the shop.
I will post back in a few days when all the detail emerge.

Zambia

I assume this man is on bail for the charges surely the bail conditions would say something about ringing the victim? That aside he just sounds like a chancer. There is a thread here somewhere looking for one case where a criminal has sued a victim. So far not one case has been found.

harr

Zambia wrote: »

I assume this man is on bail for the charges surely the bail conditions would say something about ringing the victim? That aside he just sounds like a chancer. There is a thread here somewhere looking for one case where a criminal has sued a victim. So far not one case has been found.

He must be on bail yes and i never taught of that condition i will get him to tell the station tomorrow.I can Imagen my friend to be a bundle of nerves and not getting any sleep he is a very quiet man and some thing like this would unsettle him a lot,i don't think i have even every herd him raise his voice to any one.
it was just the fact that he was a lot bigger than the drunk and could get him to floor. :mad:

PCPhoto

sorry to hear about your friend and being attacked....

Drunk or not ...it shouldn't happen... the courts do not view alcohol as an excuse so the aggression of the guy claiming to be injured would need to prove he complained to the gardai at the time of arrest (which I doubt)

like the gardai mentioned it could have happened at any stage - so everyone involved should be notice parties - the reason he's blaming your friend is because the courts rarely(never) go against the state (gardai).

so by all means tell your friend to counter sue - it might stop the drunken guy from trying to attack people while intoxicated.

As for the remark earlier about the solicitor should be telling him he had no case .... I would generally agree ...if it was a solicitor that he had to pay - but I'll bet its a state assisted solicitor who will take on the case in the hope of winning (so they will get paid either way)

MagicSean

Your friend doesn't need to do anything unless he actually receives a letter from a solicitor. I'd be surprised if any solicitor in possession of all the facts would be a part of this. Tell him not to worry about it until then. And if the guy rings up again tell him politely to get lost.

dublingal20

Hi i've been looking for somewhere to post this not sure if this is the right place, but the mods please move it if it's in the wrong place.
On an evening in October a male friend (We'll call him Tom)and I were in a busy nightclub in dublin, long story short a lad tried it on with me and after my many attempts to get him away from me, he punched me in the face. Tom turned around to see was I okay, and the lad proceeded to punch tom repeatedly in the face from the side, and again in the front of the face when Tom turned around. Gardai were called immediately and heard nothing more until recently we heard that the lad was being charged with section 2 assault on myself and section 3 on Tom. Tom was very badly hurt from the incident and needed medical attention.
My question is, as the lad has pleaded guilty, once the criminal proceedings are over, how would tom and i go about bringing Civil Cases? Can I bring a civil case for a section 2 assault and what kind of costs do you think would be incurred?

Thanks,
Jenny

234

Yes, there is a tort of assault and battery. If you are thinking of bringing a civil case then go consult a solicitor, some will do the first consultation for free if they think you have a case that they can get work out of.

MagicSean

You may get compensation during the criminal case.

ScouseMouse

Dont loose any sleep over it. The guy was out of control on drink. Cops arrested him for numerous offences.

He has not got a leg to stand on. Purely self defence and he lost his balance.

Its happened to me and was empty threats.

GerardKeating

Zambia wrote: »

I assume this man is on bail for the charges surely the bail conditions would say something about ringing the victim? That aside he just sounds like a chancer. There is a thread here somewhere looking for one case where a criminal has sued a victim. So far not one case has been found.

Actually, could this phone call be considered Witness intimidation ?

harr

hi
Was over with my friend today for a few hours just to see how he was holding up and he seems to be doing ok.He went to his solicitor who was not very good as he mostly deals in land deals and contracts and the likes but he set up a meeting with another lad who would be used to criminal cases all went well at the meeting as the solicitor reckons that the treats are empty.
He did get my friend to make a complaint to the guards about the phone call and to formally make a statement about been attacked in the shop.
He also found out this lad has 42 previous convictions and the guards reckon he will be going away for a long stretch as he was on bail at the time of the indecent.So lets hope this will be the end of the matter.
Another question...will my friend have to go to court to give evidence? The cops seem to think that a victim impact statement would help matters in court but my friend is not to sure about doing this.

Laisurg

harr wrote: »

hi
Was over with my friend today for a few hours just to see how he was holding up and he seems to be doing ok.He went to his solicitor who was not very good as he mostly deals in land deals and contracts and the likes but he set up a meeting with another lad who would be used to criminal cases all went well at the meeting as the solicitor reckons that the treats are empty.
He did get my friend to make a complaint to the guards about the phone call and to formally make a statement about been attacked in the shop.
He also found out this lad has 42 previous convictions and the guards reckon he will be going away for a long stretch as he was on bail at the time of the indecent.So lets hope this will be the end of the matter.
Another question...will my friend have to go to court to give evidence? The cops seem to think that a victim impact statement would help matters in court but my friend is not to sure about doing this.

To be honest with 42 previous convictions and being on bail at the time that guy is going to go away regardless.