North Hollywood, CA asked in Personal Injury and Domestic Violence for California

Q: I was attacked by my girlfriend a couple of months ago. What recourse do I have?

She attacked me. In trying to get her off me, she sustained a couple of bruises to her arm and neck. I had a black eye and scratches all over my face and chest. The next day, she filed DV charges against me. I pled to a lesser battery charge since I did cause her injury, even if it was defense. Can I still file against her since the police did not the night I was charged? All my injuries and statements were documented by the police.

2 Lawyer Answers

A: You can try but they don't have to take it. Talk to your attorney who you had when you plead.

A: You can't file criminal charges so if the police and DA aren't pursuing charges several months after the fact, you may be out of luck. You could always try suing in civil court, but she might sue you as well. If you and she suffered the same dollar value of injury, then neither of you would recover anything. If you suffered more injury, you might get a net recovery. If she suffered more, she might get a net recovery.

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