Can I get money from the man who assaulted me?

On Feb 23, 7:19 am, "dave" <dla...@gmail.com> wrote:
[OP got assaulted in bar; perp was caught]
> investigator now wants to know if I want to press charges or not (he
> talked to the suspect on the phone who admits to hitting me).
>
> This is my situation : I have 14 stiches on my face which will leave
> scars and over 1000$ of medical bills which I am not covered for.
> With the blood stained clothes and all, I figure he owes me 1500$.

If you sue him for assault and battery (with aid of a lawyer) you could win far more than that, including compensation for your pain and suffering as well as possibly punitive damages in addition to your out-of-pocket bills.   And this guy may be well-heeled enough to pay it -- wouldn't you like to see that?   Of course if he isn't, the criminal system may wind up being your best (and only) recourse to get some kind of justice even if it might not get your bills paid.

> I definately want to recover at least this much but what is the best
> way to go about it?  Should I offer to drop all charges if he pays a
> certain amount?

NO, don't do that.   In many states you would be committing the crime of extortion if you threaten to bring criminal charges "unless" a person pays you money.   Go ahead and tell the police that you WILL press charges, then get yourself a PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER and let your lawyer take it from there.

>  Should I press charges and then get the money through
> a civil trial or small claims court?

Yes, and maybe.   The criminal justice system may also be able to order "restitution" as part of the perp's punishment (i.e. the judge would order him to pay your medical bills and ruined clothing) but that still is not enough to FULLY compensate you for what you are entitled to recover under civil tort law.   So you could either just take hte restitution you are given and be satisfied with that, OR pursue a civil suit later.  One does not bar the other.

>  I live 4 hours away from the
> town it happened in so I would prefer to not go back 3-4 times for
> paper work and/or court appearances.

I'm afraid there is no guarantee you will not have to do so anyway, unless you just want to completely forget about the whole thing and refuse to cooperate with the police.   Of course, then you won't get paid anything either for your injuries.

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