Q: I was assaulted by my ex-wife's boyfriend infront of my daughter, breaking my nose. compensation of medical bills?
I was at drop off for my daughter, my ex-wife's boyfriend came (first time he has been there) and punched me in my nose, fracturing it and requiring surgery. We filed charges on each other because he stated I started the fight (Which is untrue), he took a plea deal, and I had my case dismissed. I now have $3k in medical bills and I have had to use PTO numerous times to go to doctor appt's and also to have nasal repair surgery. I am wanting to be able to have him pay for my medical bills and to recover money for pain and suffering. This ordeal was also witnessed by my daughter who is 3. Also, I was there by myself and my ex and her boyfriend were there. No one saw the start of the altercation but a random lady pulled up after he hit me and was continuing to try and assault me. I am wanting to know my options and the chances of this being successful in court.
A: You can recover up to $4,000.00 in small claims court to cover your expenses incurred from his actions. you can go online to the county courthouse where this happened and there are forms you can complete to get a case filed and him notified of a hearing. Getting additional recoveries (pain and suffering, etc) would require a full suit in the district court that you might have trouble finding an attorney to take. You never know, but even if successful in a civil case against him, it might be hard to actually get him to pay. You may have to try to garnish his wages or bank account, and that is never a guaranteed route of actual payment.
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