Civil Liabilities and Crime

Injuries resulting from criminal action leave openings for lawsuits.

Imagine walking down the street when someone runs by and grabs your purse. Tugging on the purse leads you to slip and fall. As you hit the sidewalk a feeling of pain starts to shoots through your body. Perhaps you have dislocated your elbow or, worse, you may have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Regardless of what type of injury you have suffered, the injury is the result of gross negligence. That means you may be able to seek financial compensation for the injuries you have suffered.

Anyone who is watching old television shows featuring those detectives of the 1970's has surely seen the conventional plot device of a robber who finds himself an accessory to a more serious crime when the initial robbery spirals out of control. Usually, this plot device centers on an expansion of the initial criminal act. However, there are also civil liabilities surrounding a criminal act as well. If you are injured by someone committing a crime on your person you may be able to seek civil remedies as well as from the ones.

Now, some may say that filing a slip and fall accident lawsuit against a purse snatcher is ridiculous. After all, if the person had any money why would they be robbing purses? Such a question is based purely on an assumption as opposed to any examination of facts. That is, if you do not have an explicit insight into the individual's finances then you cannot make a decision as to whether or not the person has any assets. Seriously, how does one know that the theft was not the result of a thrill crime? That is, crime may have been committed out of pure boredom and not economic necessity. But, regardless of the reason the crime was committed it is still a crime. That means that the perpetrator may be held criminally and civilly liable. Because of this, it would make perfect sense to seek a reward of damages if you are injured.