What happens if you get assaulted?

Hi folks,



Let's say in an entirely fictional scenario, you were attending work on a site owned by someone, let's say for argument sake you work for a utility company and need to carry out work to remove a satelite dish or something (making this up as I go along, i realise people generally own their own dishes and such).


But in the process of doing your job, you get confronted, assaulted (in so far as grabbing, dragging, pushing, not an all-out fight; no injuries sustained) and your work vehicle blocked in?


Let's say the Gardai were to arrive to such a scene, and pretty much tell the other party to cop on to themselves and let your vehicle out, so you can leave the area.


Can you follow up with that? We will assume the Gardai are the usual shoulder-shruggers who don't want the hassle of making formal complaints so everything you ask them is side-stepped with whataboutery.




I'm just looking to see how a person would follow up on that. This may or may not have happened someone I know who may or may not be quite shaken about it, but I'm unsure as to what the next step would be if he wanted to try and get compensation or bring criminal charges against someone who may or may not have participated in this entirely fictional situation.


I realise the post is vague, and I know the general advice is always going to be 'engage a solicitor' but he has contacted one, however, as it's a weekend he's unlikely to hear from anyone and i figure getting some generic thoughts or opinions here might be beneficial to give an idea what the process is. In this imaginary scenario.





Cheers

punisher5112

Drop kick them off the step ladder....

You could use the Gardai for an assault charge or chase in a civil case but if no injuries highly unlikely to get anywhere.....

With the covid19 pandemic I'm coming across more loonies then normal.

Irishphotodesk

Ideal result would be state sponsored therapy, get the victim some help and allow them to address their anxieties..... something like this could be resolved within weeks.

If the person has anxiety issues as a result of a “scuffle” - this is what they need to resolve, I assume both parties were calmer by the time the gardai were on the hypothetical scene.

As regards the hypothetical legal action, a civil suit would be aided by a criminal conviction, but the burden of proof is lesser in a civil action..so a higher chance of success .

If the person were to admit their actions and a successful civil action resulted in a compensation order, sometimes it is difficult to get the payout.... despite the threat of jail some people refuse to engage with the legal system and its orders, some people just don’t have money to pay out a compensation claim and taking an action may be pointless (let’s face it there’s no point suing someone if they can’t actually pay out) .

A good legal would make the victim and legal action appear to be a money grabbing exercise, It could be implied that the action is a vexatious exercise and not suitable for a court, the matter could fail and the victim may also be left with a financial as well as mental fatigue.

A solicitor isn’t going to tell you that your friend won’t win his/her legal action, proving psychological injuries and seeking compensation for them....to me at least ...seems a bit petty...especially if the victim went straight to a solicitor instead of trying to get help for their injuries,
Victim would need to answer questions similar to this:

how soon after the event did the victim visit the solicitor ?

What did your doctors report say, your own doctor says they examined you and there are no physical injuries.....
... so no physical injuries, so you were not injured? ........(pause for effect)...........physically.
You simply took the action because you want money, this isn’t about a physical injury during a ....scuffle, because it wasn’t even a fight...no physical injury, you were annoyed and you contribute to the situation, why didn’t you walk away?

I’m not sayin your hypothetical friend will be successful or not in their endeavors but .... if they face a strong legal counsel or a judge that takes a view.... they could face legal costs, a legal action is a very stressful event for a person to take on, if they have suffered psychological stress as a result of the scuffle, they face a tougher task mentally if they make it all the way to a courtroom.

Bigus

Basically you’re left with a civil suit , if the authorities aren’t interested, which at the moment is most definitely the case.
I’d also say the Garda who attended reckoned fairness was achieved, ie that the accused was” sort of “ within their rights , and the assaulted, contributed by their own actions, and if anything, the intruder showed disrespect for private property and in different circumstances could have got shot by trespassing, which the Garda definitely don’t want.
I’d also guess the assaulted was seen to be an out of towner/blow in/ lackey carrying out work for a large impersonable corporate body with no balls, by the Gardai and the homeowner.

So a civil suit would be the only road open to the assaulted, and compensation would be the best result . However if the person sued has no money or means it’s a pointless excercise because, no money would change hands.
The type of person who would commit an assault like this, on there own land , would also be the type of person who would defend themselves in court without a solicitor, which they are entitled to do, and perhaps they are about to have that land repossessed or such like , which would hugely mitigate their actions aswell, and mean there is no compensation money available.
Worse case scenario is the person brought to civil court could take matters into their own hands and would have the name and address of the plaintiff and may go after them in their own home, illegally of course, but perhaps morally justified in their own eyes. Also this process of getting them to court would take about 3 years and, Could drag on longer.
So I’d say to your hypothetical person consider a new career, that doesn’t aggravate people in stressful situations, or get tough and respect the consequences of your/their actions.

Cheers for the replies so far folks. I've linked the person that may or may not exist to this thread (they dont have a boards account).