I Have Been Assaulted, Can I Claim Compensation For Personal Injury Arising From This Assault?

In Canada, reasonable expectation of personal safety is enforced criminally and civilly and in a previous post we already described the implications associated with dishonest sexual assault accusations, defamation of character and the damages in which one might be able to claim should they become such a victim.

Perhaps slightly more complicated is understanding the differences between a criminal and civil case and how, particularly where a criminal prosecution is concerned, a personal injury claim can be affected. That said, it is important to also acknowledge that legal action taken as a result of an assault can be heard in both criminal court and a civil court.

An assault by definition occurs when the defendant has demonstrated some sort of intended threat that in turn has instilled an element of apprehension or fear in the would- be claimant. This explanation typically pertains to cases that would be considered to be of a criminal nature. Although the lines