North Hills, CA asked in Personal Injury for California

Q: on a public street in a neighborhood. The homeowner that lives on the street comes out to my car and assaults me. who

i was told to come by the house by the owner. I was on a public street. He come outside and chocked me, gave me a black eye. Nothing happened to him. who is at fault? Police were called and both parties were cited for mutual combat even though i never put a hand on the other party. Pictures were taken of me ( black eye, ripped shirt, strangulation marks around my neck). The other party had no marks or scratches. Their was a neighbor outside that saw everything and I told the officers to get his statement and they said it wasn't necessary. They just needed both parties statements. I was cited and released in jail and he was just cited. He is a former officer of the city and the sergent went up and only spoke with him. How and what should i do, i feell as if i hae a lot going against me and i never left my car or took my seatbelt off.

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2 Lawyer Answers
William John Light
William John Light
Answered
  • Santa Ana, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: Based on what you wrote, no one could say. If you have been attacked, the first call is to the police, not lawyers. If you were engaged mutual combat, I would expect that both of you could be arrested. It depends on all of the facts and circumstances, which we don't know.

Theodore Allan Greene agrees with this answer

Maurice Mandel II
Maurice Mandel II
Answered
  • Newport Beach, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: I see that your first call was to the Police, not the lawyers, this is good. But the Police ended up not being any help to you, so now what? You can sue him for Battery and Negligence in Small Claims, and present your damages, medical bills, medications, testimony about emotional distress, request for Punitive damages, to the judge. You better have some witnesses to substantiate your claims or it gets into your word against his. I hope you have photos of your black eye. I hope owner has HO insurance, you want to sue for negligence because otherwise you cannot get at the HO insurance.

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