Did someone in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recently assault you? Did you incur expensive medical bills and have to take time off work to heal from your injuries? The Albuquerque assault injury lawyers at Curiel & Runion Personal Injury Lawyers can help you seek the compensation you need through a civil claim. Call (505) 785-7770 to learn how we can help you.
Our legal team has over 55 years of combined experience holding at-fault parties financially accountable for their actions.
Contact our law firm today for a free case review, where you can ask any questions you have about this process. Our Albuquerque personal injury attorneys are available 24/7 to answer your call.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me If I Was Assaulted in Albuquerque, NM?
The prosecutor represents the interests of the victims and the people by seeking justice through the criminal court system. However, this process likely will not provide the compensation you need and deserve. An injury lawyer can help you pursue a financial recovery for your injuries and damages.
The Albuquerque personal injury lawyers from Curiel & Runion Personal Injury Lawyers have over five decades of combined legal experience.
When you trust us to handle your assault injury case, you can count on us to do the following:
- Investigate the case
- Gather evidence to establish that the assault occurred
- Determine all possible options for compensation
- Handle communications and negotiations with the at-fault party, their insurance company, or others involved
- Work with law enforcement
- Analyze police and medical records
- Obtain photographs and witness statements
- Calculate a fair amount of compensation for your claim
Contact our Albuquerque, NM law office today for a free case review.
What Is Assault in New Mexico?
The criminal statute for assault in New Mexico explains that assault is any of the following:
- Attempting to commit battery on someone else
- Committing any unlawful act, threat, or menacing conduct that causes another person to reasonably believe they are in danger of immediately being battered
- Using insulting language toward another that questions their honor, reputation, or delicacy
This crime is classified as a petty misdemeanor.
In addition to being a crime, assault is also an intentional tort. Through a personal injury claim, you would need to establish some of the same elements as the crime of assault. However, the result and burden of proof are different in criminal cases vs. civil cases based on assault.
In a criminal case, you must prove the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. In civil claims, the burden of proof is by the preponderance of the evidence, a much smaller bar. You simply have to show that the elements of assault more likely than not occurred as you say they did.
In a criminal case, the result can be that the defendant is sentenced to jail time, a fine, or other criminal consequences. However, in a personal injury claim, the goal is to obtain compensation for the harm you suffered.
Common Types of Assault in Albuquerque
At Curiel & Runion Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent assault victims who have been injured in various types of incidents, including:
- Robberies, muggings, and other criminal assaults
- Club fights
- Sexual assaults
- Sporting event fights
- Domestic violence
- Workplace violence
- Bullying
- Bar fights
If you were injured in an assault, you deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. Contact our Albuquerque assault injury attorneys for compassionate legal assistance.
Who Can Be Responsible For Assault Injuries in Albuquerque, New Mexico?
In addition to the assailant, other parties may be held legally responsible for an assault and its resulting damages in New Mexico. It is important to look for other parties who may share liability so that you can seek the full extent of compensation allowed under the law.
The assailant may have limited resources, but there may be other parties who are just as responsible for the financial and emotional harm you have suffered.
Other parties who may be held responsible will be determined based on showing negligence.
This requires showing that the defendant in a personal injury case:
- Had a legal duty to protect you or prevent the attack
- Breached their legal duty by failing to prevent the attack
- Caused your injury
- Made you suffer damages
Our experienced assault injury lawyers can review the circumstances to determine other parties who may be responsible for your injuries. We can also devise legal arguments for why these parties should be held accountable for your injuries, such as a breach of a contractual duty, negligent security, or negligent hiring practices.
Depending on the circumstances, other parties who may be named as defendants in civil assault cases may include:
- The business where you were injured, such as a sporting event arena, an entertainment venue, a bar, a restaurant, a nightclub, or a store
- The owner of the property where you were injured that served alcohol to the assailant or otherwise failed to keep their property in a safe condition, allowing you to be harmed
- Entertainment companies responsible for security during events
- Landlords or lessees of property
- Employers, if the assailant was working at the time of the attack
- Government agencies, if the attack happened on public property
- Schools and administrators that fail to protect victims of bullying
Our team will work tirelessly to uncover the identity of anyone who created a situation that allowed you to be assaulted.
Common Injuries Stemming From Assault
Assaults can cause serious injuries, including the following:
- Disfiguring injuries
- Broken bones
- Bruised ribs
- Black eyes
- Spinal cord damage
- Nerve damage
- Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
- Paralysis
- Wrongful death
Sometimes, the emotional scars last much longer than the physical ones. Some assault victims require intensive therapy or suffer from PTSD or other mental health problems following an assault.
Our assault injury attorneys in Albuquerque will pursue all available forms of compensation.
Financial Damages That Can Be Awarded in New Mexico Assault Injury Cases
In New Mexico assault cases, you can pursue compensation for all the economic damages you suffer as a result of the attack, which may include:
- Emergency medical treatment and diagnosis
- Ongoing medical care
- Medication
- Medical devices
- Counseling and mental health treatment
- Rehabilitation
- Future medical expenses
- Property damage
- Lost earnings
- Reduced earning capacity
Additionally, you can seek compensation for the non-economic damages you suffer, which are not as easy to quantify but just as real as your economic damages.
These may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement
- Permanent disability
- Scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Because assault involves intentional misconduct instead of general negligence, you may also be able to seek punitive damages. Punitive damages do not try to compensate victims like other forms of damages in personal injury cases. Instead, they try to punish the defendant for particularly bad behavior and prevent similar conduct in the future.
Our experienced assault injury lawyers in Albuquerque can review your case and determine the potential compensation you might be entitled to.
What Is the Statute of Limitations To File an Assault Injury Lawsuit in Albuquerque, New Mexico?
You have a limited amount of time to file an assault lawsuit in Albuquerque. This is known as the statute of limitations. You must file your case before the statute of limitations expires, or you will forfeit your right to seek compensation through the courts.
Do not confuse the statute of limitations to file a civil claim with the statute of limitations for the prosecution to file charges against the defendant. The criminal statute of limitations in New Mexico is generally one or two years for misdemeanors and three to six years for felony offenses. The general statute of limitations for personal injury cases in New Mexico is three years.
Some exceptions may alter the statute of limitations or temporarily pause it, such as if the victim is a minor or incapacitated. Additionally, if the defendant left the state, died, is on active military duty, or is imprisoned, you may be able to file your case after the typical deadline.
There are also times when you may have less than the usual timeline to file your lawsuit, such as if you are suing the government. An experienced Albuquerque assault injury lawyer can review your case and inform you of the filing deadline that applies.
Schedule Your Free Case Review With Our Experienced Albuquerque Assault Injury Lawyers
Were you or a loved one recently assaulted in Albuquerque, NM? If so, you likely have many questions about the legal steps you can take and the potential arguments you can make to recover maximum compensation for your case.
The experienced Albuquerque assault injury lawyers from Curiel & Runion Personal Injury Lawyers want to help you seek the justice and accountability you deserve.
Our legal team has a 98% success rate, but you can be even more assured because we work completely on contingency. This means that you do not pay us for our legal services unless and until we recover compensation for your claim. We will work hard to identify all potential sources of compensation and aggressively pursue them for you.
We provide a free, no-obligation consultation, so don’t hesitate to give us a call or complete a contact form online to learn more.