What Can I Do if A Co-Worker Assults Me and Causes Me to Quit my Job?
Full Question:
Answer:
Assault is an intentional attempt or threat to inflict injury upon a person, coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm, which creates a reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or offensive contact in another. Assault does not require actual touching or bodily harm to the victim. An assault is both a crime and a tort. Therefore, an assailant may face both criminal and civil liability. A criminal assault conviction may result in a fine, imprisonment, or both. In a civil assault case, the victim may be entitled to monetary damages from the assailant. Words, without an act, cannot constitute an assault. Assault requires intent, meaning that there has been a deliberate, unjustified interference with the personal right or liberty of another in a way that causes harm. In the tort of assault, intent is established if a reasonable person is substantially certain that certain consequences will result; intent is established whether or not he or she actually intends those consequences to result. Criminal assault statutes often speak of acting "purposely," "knowingly," "recklessly," or "negligently." Acting negligently means to grossly deviate from the standards of normal conduct. Some criminal assault statutes recognize only "purposely," "knowingly," and "recklessly" as the level of intent required to establish that an offense occurred. All states and the federal government have statutes making assault a crime. A criminal assault may be either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending upon the seriousness of the offense. Aggravated assault is a felony in all jurisdictions. It is an assault that goes beyond merely an intention to frighten the victim; it is committed with intent to commit some additional crime or is particularly egregious in some way. Separate from any criminal prosecution for assault, a victim may pursue civil damages for injuries caused by it. After a determination by a judge or jury that an assault was committed, the next step is to determine what compensation is appropriate.
Separate from any criminal prosecution for assault, a victim may pursue civil damages for injuries caused by it. After a determination by a judge or jury that an assault was committed, the next step is to determine what compensation is appropriate. Three types of damages may be awarded. Compensatory damages, such as medical expenses, are meant to compensate for the injury sustained. Nominal damages are a small sum. Nominal damages act as an acknowledgment that a person has suffered a technical invasion of rights. They are awarded in cases where no actual injury has resulted, or where an injury occurred, but the amount has not been established. Finally, punitive damages may sometimes be awarded. Punitive damages may be awarded in particularly egregious circumstances, as a way to further punish the wrongdoer. Punitive damages go above and beyond compensatory damages.
Battery is a crime and also the basis for a lawsuit as a civil wrong if there is damage. A battery is any:
a.Willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another; or
b.Actual, intentional and unlawful touching or striking of another person against the will of the other; or
c.Unlawfully and intentionally causing bodily harm to an individual.
A battery is any physical contact with another person, to which that person has not consented. An assault is basically an attempt at a battery. The terms assault and battery often go together. Defenses to battery include lack of intent (such as an accident), defense of others or property, or self-defense.
Please see the following CO statutes:
18-3-202. Assault in the first degree.
(1) A person commits the crime of assault in the first degree if:
(a) With intent to cause serious bodily injury to another person, he
causes serious bodily injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(b) With intent to disfigure another person seriously and permanently, or
to destroy, amputate, or disable permanently a member or organ of his body,
he causes such an injury to any person; or
(c) Under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of
human life, he knowingly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of
death to another person, and thereby causes serious bodily injury to any
person; or
(d) Repealed.
(e) With intent to cause serious bodily injury upon the person of a peace
officer or firefighter, he or she threatens with a deadly weapon a peace
officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and
the offender knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace
officer or firefighter acting in the performance of his or her duties; or
(e.5) With intent to cause serious bodily injury upon the person of a
judge of a court of competent jurisdiction or an officer of said court, he
threatens with a deadly weapon a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction
or an officer of said court, and the offender knows or reasonably should
know that the victim is a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction or an
officer of said court; or
(f) While lawfully confined or in custody as a result of being charged
with or convicted of a crime or as a result of being charged as a
delinquent child or adjudicated as a delinquent child and with intent to
cause serious bodily injury to a person employed by or under contract
with a detention facility, as defined in section 18-8-203(3), or to a
person employed by the division in the department of human services
responsible for youth services and who is a youth services counselor or
is in the youth services worker classification series, he or she
threatens with a deadly weapon such a person engaged in the performance
of his or her duties and the offender knows or reasonably should know
that the victim is such a person engaged in the performance of his or her
duties while employed by or under contract with a detention facility or
while employed by the division in the department of human services
responsible for youth services. A sentence imposed pursuant to this
paragraph (f) shall be served in the department of corrections and shall
run consecutively with any sentences being served by the offender. A
person who participates in a work release program, a furlough, or any
other similar authorized supervised or unsupervised absence from a
detention facility, as defined in section 18-8-203(3), and who is
required to report back to the detention facility at a specified time
shall be deemed to be in custody.
(2)(a) If assault in the first degree is committed under circumstances
where the act causing the injury is performed upon a sudden heat of
passion, caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended
victim, affecting the person causing the injury sufficiently to excite an
irresistible passion in a reasonable person, and without an interval
between the provocation and the injury sufficient for the voice of reason
and humanity to be heard, it is a class 5 felony.
(b) If assault in the first degree is committed without the circumstances
provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2), it is a class 3 felony.
(c) If a defendant is convicted of assault in the first degree pursuant
to subsection (1) of this section, the court shall sentence the defendant
in accordance with the provisions of section 18-1.3-406.
18-3-203. Assault in the second degree.
(1) A person commits the crime of assault in the second degree if:
(a) Repealed.
(b) With intent to cause bodily injury to another person, he or she
causes such injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(c) With intent to prevent one whom he or she knows, or should know, to
be a peace officer or firefighter from performing a lawful duty, he or
she intentionally causes bodily injury to any person; or
(d) He recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another person by means
of a deadly weapon; or
(e) For a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment, he
intentionally causes stupor, unconsciousness, or other physical or mental
impairment or injury to another person by administering to him, without his
consent, a drug, substance, or preparation capable of producing the
intended harm; or
(f) While lawfully confined or in custody, he or she knowingly and
violently applies physical force against the person of a peace officer or
firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a judge
of a court of competent jurisdiction, or an officer of said court, or,
while lawfully confined or in custody as a result of being charged with
or convicted of a crime or as a result of being charged as a delinquent
child or adjudicated as a delinquent child, he or she knowingly and
violently applies physical force against a person engaged in the
performance of his or her duties while employed by or under contract with
a detention facility, as defined in section 18-8-203(3), or while
employed by the division in the department of human services responsible
for youth services and who is a youth services counselor or is in the
youth services worker classification series, and the person committing
the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace
officer or firefighter engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
or a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction, or an officer of said
court, or a person engaged in the performance of his or her duties while
employed by or under contract with a detention facility or while employed
by the division in the department of human services responsible for youth
services. A sentence imposed pursuant to this paragraph (f) shall be
served in the department of corrections and shall run consecutively with
any sentences being served by the offender; except that, if the offense
is committed against a person employed by the division in the department
of human services responsible for youth services, the court may grant
probation or a suspended sentence in whole or in part, and such sentence
may run concurrently or consecutively with any sentences being served. A
person who participates in a work release program, a furlough, or any
other similar authorized supervised or unsupervised absence from a
detention facility, as defined in section 18-8-203(3), and who is
required to report back to the detention facility at a specified time
shall be deemed to be in custody.
(f.5) (I) While lawfully confined in a detention facility within this
state, a person with intent to infect, injure, harm, harass, annoy,
threaten, or alarm a person in a detention facility whom the actor knows or
reasonably should know to be an employee of a detention facility, causes
such employee to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces,
saliva, mucus, vomit, or any toxic, caustic, or hazardous material by any
means, including but not limited to throwing, tossing, or expelling such
fluid or material.
(II) (A) Any adult or juvenile who is bound over for trial for the
offense described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (f.5) subsequent
to a preliminary hearing or after having waived the right to a
preliminary hearing, any person who is indicted for or is convicted of any
such offense, or any person who is determined to have provided blood,
seminal fluid, urine, feces, saliva, mucus, or vomit to a person bound
over for trial for, indicted for, or convicted of such an offense shall
be ordered by the court to submit to a medical test for communicable
diseases and to supply blood, feces, urine, saliva, or other bodily fluid
required for the test. The results of such test shall be reported to the
court or the court's designee, who shall then disclose the results to any
victim of the offense who requests such disclosure. Review and disclosure
of medical test results by the court shall be closed and confidential,
and any transaction records relating thereto shall also be closed and
confidential. If a person subject to a medical test for communicable
diseases pursuant this sub-subparagraph (A) voluntarily submits to a
medical test for communicable diseases, the fact of such person's
voluntary submission shall be admissible in mitigation of sentence if the
person is convicted of the charged offense.
(B) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the court may order
any person who is convicted of the offense described in subparagraph (I) of
this paragraph (f.5) to meet all or any portion of the financial
obligations of medical tests performed on and treatment prescribed for the
victim or victims of the offense.
(C) At the time of sentencing, the court may order that an offender
described in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (II) be put on a
period of probation for the purpose of paying the testing and treatment
costs of the victim or victims; except that the period of probation, when
added to any time served, shall not exceed the maximum sentence that can be
imposed for the offense.
(III) (A) As used in this paragraph (f.5), "detention facility" means any
building, structure, enclosure, vehicle, institution, or place, whether
permanent or temporary, fixed or mobile, where persons are or may be
lawfully held in custody or confinement under the authority of the state of
Colorado or any political subdivision of the state of Colorado.
(B) As used in this paragraph (f.5), "employee of a detention facility"
includes employees of the department of corrections, employees of any
agency or person operating a detention facility, law enforcement personnel,
and any other persons who are present in or in the vicinity of a detention
facility and are performing services for a detention facility. "Employee of
a detention facility" does not include a person lawfully confined in a
detention facility.
(g) With intent to cause bodily injury to another person, he causes
serious bodily injury to that person or another.
(2)(a) If assault in the second degree is committed under circumstances
where the act causing the injury is performed upon a sudden heat of
passion, caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended
victim, affecting the person causing the injury sufficiently to excite an
irresistible passion in a reasonable person, and without an interval
between the provocation and the injury sufficient for the voice of reason
and humanity to be heard, it is a class 6 felony.
(b) If assault in the second degree is committed without the
circumstances provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2), it is a
class 4 felony.
(b.5) Assault in the second degree by any person under subsection (1) of
this section without the circumstances provided in paragraph (a) of this
subsection (2) is a class 3 felony if the person who is assaulted, other
than a participant in the crime, suffered serious bodily injury during the
commission or attempted commission of or flight from the commission or
attempted commission of murder, robbery, arson, burglary, escape,
kidnapping in the first degree, sexual assault, sexual assault in the first
or second degree as such offenses existed prior to July 1, 2000, or class 3
felony sexual assault on a child.
(c) If a defendant is convicted of assault in the second degree pursuant
to paragraph (b), (c), (d), or (g) of subsection (1) of this section or
paragraph (b.5) of this subsection (2), except with respect to sexual
assault or sexual assault in the first degree as it existed prior to July
1, 2000, the court shall sentence the defendant in accordance with the
provisions of section 18-1.3-406. A defendant convicted of assault in the
second degree pursuant to paragraph (b.5) of this subsection (2) with
respect to sexual assault or sexual assault in the first degree as it
existed prior to July 1, 2000, shall be sentenced in accordance with
section 18-1.3-401(8)(e) or (8) (e.5).
18-3-204. Assault in the third degree.
(1) A person commits the crime of assault in the third degree if:
(a) The person knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another
person or with criminal negligence the person causes bodily injury to
another person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(b) The person, with intent to infect, injure, harm, harass, annoy,
threaten, or alarm another person whom the actor knows or reasonably should
know to be a peace officer, a firefighter, or an emergency medical
technician, causes such other person to come into contact with blood,
seminal fluid, urine, feces, saliva, mucus, vomit, or any toxic, caustic,
or hazardous material by any means, including but not limited to throwing,
tossing, or expelling such fluid or material.
(2)(a) An adult or juvenile who has had a court find that there is
probable cause to believe that he or she has committed an offense pursuant
to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section or is convicted of an
offense pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section or any
person who is determined to have provided blood, seminal fluid, urine,
feces, saliva, mucus, or vomit to a person for whom probable cause has been
found or been convicted of such an offense shall be ordered by the court to
submit to a medical test for communicable diseases and to supply blood,
feces, urine, saliva, or other bodily fluid required for the test. The
results of such test shall be reported to the court or the court's
designee, who shall then disclose the results to any victim of the offense
who requests such disclosure. Review and disclosure of medical test results
by the court shall be closed and confidential, and any transaction records
relating thereto shall also be closed and confidential. If a person subject
to a medical test for communicable diseases pursuant to this subsection (2)
voluntarily submits to a medical test for communicable diseases, the fact
of the person's voluntary submission shall be admissible in mitigation of
sentence if the person is convicted of the charged offense.
(b) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the court may order
any person who is convicted of the offense described in paragraph (b) of
subsection (1) of this section to meet all or any portion of the financial
obligations of medical tests performed on and treatment prescribed for the
victim or victims of the offense.
(3) Assault in the third degree is a class 1 misdemeanor and is an
extraordinary risk crime that is subject to the modified sentencing range
specified in section 18-1.3-501(3).