BROCKTON ASSAULT AND BATTERY LAWYER
An attack is never
the victim’s fault.
After an assault, you can hold the attacker and any business that failed to protect you accountable, and Larson Law finds the coverage and pursues the entire cost of your injuries.
- No fee unless we win
- Same-day response
- Free case review
As Seen On:
What a Brockton assault and battery claim involves
Being attacked is frightening and disorienting, and in the aftermath most people think only about the criminal side, whether the person who hurt them will be arrested and charged. But a criminal case punishes the attacker; it does not pay for your medical bills, your lost income, or the lasting physical and emotional harm you were left with. A civil assault and battery claim is how an injured person recovers for those losses, and it is separate from, and does not depend on, any criminal prosecution.
That distinction matters more than most people realize. A civil claim uses a lower standard of proof than a criminal case, so you can recover compensation even if the attacker was never charged, was acquitted, or was never identified by name. And crucially, the attacker is often not the only party responsible: when a business or property owner failed to provide the security that could have prevented the attack, that company can be liable too, and its insurance is frequently what makes a real recovery possible.
Our team investigates the attack, identifies every responsible party and every source of coverage, and builds the civil case, the same approach we bring across our Boston personal injury attorney practice, through our Boston assault and battery lawyer team, and in nearby communities as a Quincy assault and battery lawyer. Recovering after a violent attack is not something you should have to face against an insurer alone.
Every case at the firm is handled under the direction of Daniel J. Larson, whose background and credentials are on his attorney profile. From the first conversation you work directly with a lawyer who understands how these cases work and who will explain, in plain terms, what your claim involves and what it may be worth.
It also helps to understand the two kinds of defendant. The first is the attacker, who is directly responsible but who may have no insurance and few assets to collect from. The second is a negligent third party, a bar that overserved and ignored a brewing fight, an apartment complex with broken locks and no lighting, a business that ignored known danger, whose failure helped the attack happen and whose insurance can actually pay for the harm.
For the injured person, none of that legal structure is what they feel in the aftermath. They feel the pain, the fear, and often the trauma that follows a violent event. The work of turning that experience into a claim, and of finding the party and the coverage that can make them whole, is exactly what a lawyer is for, and it is why getting advice early matters so much.
There is often a second injustice layered on top of an assault: the sense that nothing can be done once the criminal process runs its course or stalls. A victim may be told the case was dropped, the attacker got probation, or no one was ever caught, and conclude that is the end of it. It is not. The civil justice system runs on a separate track with its own, lower burden of proof, and it exists precisely to give the injured person a remedy the criminal system does not provide.
Understanding the two-track system changes what is possible. A criminal court can jail the attacker but rarely makes the victim financially whole; a civil claim can reach the money, from the attacker, and far more often from a negligent business, that actually pays for medical care, lost income, and the lasting harm. Pursuing that civil claim is not about revenge; it is about recovering what the attack cost you.
The firm handles these cases with the seriousness and the discretion they demand. We investigate quickly, before the evidence disappears, we identify every party who bears responsibility, and we pursue the coverage that can actually make a difference, all while treating what you have been through with the care it deserves. An assault is a violation, and the response should be a claim built to hold the responsible parties fully to account.
It is also worth saying plainly that reporting the attack and pursuing a claim can protect others. A business forced to answer for a foreseeable assault has a reason to fix the lighting, the locks, and the staffing that failed you, so that the next person is safer. Holding a negligent property owner accountable is both a personal recovery and a public good.
What our clients say
Why assault victims trust us with these cases
- We build the civil case separately from any criminal case, so you can recover even without a conviction.
- We look past the attacker to any business or property owner whose lack of security helped the attack happen.
- We find the insurance that can actually pay, because the attacker alone often has little to collect from.
- We document the full harm, physical, emotional, and financial, that a violent attack leaves behind.
- We handle the investigation and the insurer for you, with discretion and care for what you have been through.
- No fee unless we win
- Free, private case review
- Same-day response
- Honest advice from day one
$300K+ Won For Clients
100+ 5-Star Google Reviews
8+ Years of Legal Expertise
98% Legal Success Rate
100+ Injured Victims Helped
No Win, No Fee Guaranteed
How the law lets an assault victim recover
A civil claim, separate from the criminal case
In Massachusetts, an assault and battery is both a crime and a civil wrong. The criminal offense is defined in G.L. c. 265, § 13A, which also describes the “serious bodily injury” that marks the gravest attacks, but a criminal case is brought by the state to punish, not to compensate you. Your civil claim is separate: it seeks money for your losses, uses a lower burden of proof, and can succeed even if there was no arrest, no charge, or an acquittal. This matters because it means a victim is never dependent on the criminal system to be made whole.
Holding a negligent business responsible
Often the most important defendant is not the attacker but a property owner or business that failed to keep people reasonably safe. A bar that overserved a violent patron, an apartment complex with broken locks or no lighting, a parking garage or club that ignored known danger, all can be liable under premises law for a foreseeable attack they failed to prevent. This matters because these businesses carry insurance, and that coverage is frequently the difference between a paper judgment and a recovery that actually pays.
Comparative fault and the deadline
Where a negligent-security claim is involved, G.L. c. 231, § 85 governs any argument that the victim shared fault: recovery is allowed unless the victim was more than half responsible, with any award reduced by their share. And most civil claims must be brought within three years under G.L. c. 260, § 2A. This matters because a business’s security records, video, and staffing logs can disappear quickly, so acting early is what preserves both the evidence and the full cost of a catastrophic injury.
Proving the case
Because these cases turn on what happened and who could have prevented it, they are built from evidence that fades fast. Surveillance video, the police report, medical records, witness accounts, and a business’s history of prior incidents and its security practices together establish both the attack and the negligence that allowed it. Much of this is controlled by the business and overwritten within days, so preserving it early, and documenting the head injuries and other harm a beating can cause, is central to the claim.
A history of prior violence at the same location is especially powerful. If a bar, club, or complex knew of earlier assaults and did nothing, that knowledge makes the later attack foreseeable and the failure to act clear negligence. Uncovering that pattern, through incident reports, police calls, and prior complaints, is often what transforms a claim against a business from possible into compelling.
Foreseeability is the heart of a negligent-security case, and it is worth understanding plainly. A business is not automatically responsible for every act of violence on its property, but when the danger was foreseeable, because of the nature of the location, the hour, or a history of prior incidents, and the business failed to take reasonable precautions, the law can hold it responsible for what those precautions would have prevented. Establishing that foreseeability is often the central battle in the case.
The kinds of failures that support these claims are concrete and provable: too few security staff for a crowded venue, broken or propped-open doors, dead or missing cameras, dark parking areas, a bar that kept serving an aggressive patron, or a landlord who ignored repeated complaints about safety. Each is a decision or an omission that can be documented, and each can connect a business’s negligence directly to the attack that injured you.
It is also important to know that a victim who was, for example, involved in a dispute is not automatically barred from recovering. Comparative negligence reduces but does not necessarily eliminate a claim, and the question of who bears responsibility for a foreseeable attack, especially against a business that failed to keep order, is one to be met with evidence rather than assumed away.
Where an assault and battery happens in Brockton
Assaults in Brockton happen where people gather and where security is often thin. Bars and nightclubs at closing time, apartment complexes with inadequate lighting or broken entry security, parking lots and garages, convenience stores, and large events all see violent incidents, and in each the question is not only who threw the punch but who was responsible for keeping the place reasonably safe. Where an attack happens frequently determines whether a negligent business shares the blame.
Location shapes the evidence and the response. Brockton Police document serious assaults and generate the report that anchors a civil claim, and many of these locations have surveillance cameras whose footage can show the attack and the security failures around it, footage that is often overwritten within days unless it is demanded immediately. Identifying and preserving that video is one of the most urgent steps after a violent incident.
Brockton sits in Plymouth County, and a civil assault claim is generally handled through the local district court or the Plymouth County courts, while any criminal case proceeds separately. Understanding how the local courts and police work, and coordinating a civil claim alongside a criminal case without interfering with it, is part of the job, and it directly affects the income a serious injury causes you to lose during a long recovery.
What the location proves
The specifics of a place often decide a negligent-security case. Whether the lighting was adequate, whether locks and cameras worked, how many staff or guards were on duty, and whether the business knew of earlier trouble all speak to whether it met its duty. A careful record tying the attack to those failures is frequently what establishes the business’s share of responsibility.
Prior incidents at the same address carry particular weight. Police call histories, past assault reports, and complaints from tenants or patrons can show a business was on notice of danger and failed to respond, and gathering those local records early is part of building a claim that holds the responsible business to account.
Brockton’s courts and agencies matter to how a claim proceeds. A civil action is generally pursued in the Plymouth County courts or the local district court, entirely separate from any criminal case in the same building, and coordinating the two, so the civil claim advances without disrupting a prosecution, is part of the work. Knowing the local landscape helps move a claim efficiently.
The costs a violent attack can leave behind
The harm from a violent attack reaches far beyond the emergency room. A complete claim accounts for the medical care and surgery an assault can require, for the the pain, the trauma, and the fear that follow a violent event, often including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress, and for the scarring or lasting disability a serious beating can cause. It also has to account for time and income lost during recovery, and a full and careful accounting of every present and future cost is exactly what an insurer works hardest to minimize.
Emotional and psychological harm deserves particular attention in these cases, because it is real, it is compensable, and it is easy for an insurer to overlook. The fear of being in public, the sleeplessness, and the lasting effect on relationships and work are part of what a violent attack takes, and documenting them, with the help of treating professionals, is part of valuing the claim honestly.
None of this is something a victim should have to manage alone while still healing, physically and emotionally. A free, private conversation can explain what your claim may involve, what evidence must be preserved before it disappears, and what the case may be worth, so your decisions are informed rather than rushed. Because these cases are handled on a contingency fee, that guidance comes with no upfront cost.
Facing a business’s insurer alone is not a fair contest. Its adjusters and lawyers work to deny that the attack was foreseeable and to minimize your harm, and an unrepresented victim is unlikely to secure the video or prove the security failures in time. A lawyer who investigates quickly, documents the full harm, and stands firm is what levels the field, and where an attack proves fatal, we can explain what the loss entitles a family to recover.
Because the harm from an attack is often as much psychological as physical, valuing the claim honestly means accounting for both. A visible scar, a lingering disability, and the cost of surgery are real, but so are the panic in a crowded room, the interrupted sleep, and the withdrawal from work and relationships that trauma can bring. Treating professionals can document those effects, and a full claim gives them the weight they deserve.
Acting quickly protects the claim in a way that is especially urgent here. The surveillance video that shows both the attack and the security failure is often overwritten within days, and a business has little incentive to preserve evidence of its own negligence. A prompt legal demand to preserve that footage and the related records is frequently the single most important step in the entire case.
The aim in every one of these cases is the same: to make sure a person who was harmed by a violent act, and by the failure that allowed it, is not left carrying the cost alone, and to reach the parties and the coverage that can provide a full recovery.
An early, honest conversation costs nothing and often reveals options a victim did not know existed, including a path to recovery that does not depend on the criminal case at all, and that can begin while you focus on healing.
Medical Care and Surgery
Emotional and Psychological Harm
Scarring and Lasting Disability
Lost Wages and Income
Three steps to protect your assault injury claim
Get medical care and a police report
Get medical care right away, both for your injuries and to document them, and be sure the attack is reported to the Brockton police. If you safely can, note the cameras and the names of any witnesses.
Act fast to preserve the video
Surveillance footage from a bar, complex, or store, often the best proof of the attack and the security failures, is overwritten within days, so a prompt demand to preserve it makes the claim provable
Talk to a lawyer before you settle
A civil claim is separate from the criminal case, and a business's insurer will move to reduce it, so before you take an offer or give a statement, a free review shows what your claim is really worth.
- 5.0 stars out of 100+ reviews
Talk to a Brockton assault and battery lawyer
If you were attacked in Brockton, you may be able to recover from the attacker and from any business whose lack of security helped it happen, whether or not there is a criminal case. Talk with our team, or with our Boston personal injury attorney office, for a free and private review of what happened and what your claim may be worth, and let us pursue the responsible parties while you focus on healing.
By submitting this form, you acknowledge that doing so does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not include confidential information. Contacting us does not obligate you to retain our services.
Our Clients.
Our Practice Areas.
Larson Law helps injured people and families across Massachusetts after a serious accident. If you were hurt by someone else’s carelessness in Boston, we are ready to listen and explain your options at no cost.
Brockton assault and battery questions, answered
Can I sue even if there's no criminal case?
Yes. A civil claim is completely separate from a criminal prosecution and uses a lower standard of proof. You can recover compensation even if the attacker was never arrested or charged, was acquitted, or was never identified. The civil case is about your losses, not about punishing the attacker.
The person who hurt me has no money. Can I still recover?
Often yes, through a third party. When a business or property owner, a bar, club, or apartment complex, failed to provide reasonable security and that allowed the attack, its insurance can pay for your harm. That negligent-security claim is frequently the real source of a meaningful recovery.
What is a negligent security claim?
It is a claim that a property owner or business failed to take reasonable steps, adequate lighting, working locks, security staff, crowd control, to protect people from a foreseeable attack. If that failure helped an assault happen, the business can be held responsible alongside the attacker.
How do you prove the attack and who's responsible?
With evidence that fades fast: surveillance video, the police report, medical records, witness accounts, and a business’s history of prior incidents and its security practices. Because much of it is controlled by the business and overwritten within days, preserving it quickly is essential to proving the case.
Does a criminal conviction help my civil claim?
It can help, but it is not required. A conviction is strong evidence, yet because the civil standard of proof is lower, you can win your civil case even without one. The two proceed separately, and we coordinate the civil claim so it does not interfere with any criminal case.
What if I don't know who attacked me?
You may still have a claim against a negligent business that failed to protect you, because that claim does not depend on naming the attacker. Identifying the property owner and proving the security failure can support a full recovery even when the assailant is never identified.
How long do I have to file?
Most civil claims must be brought within three years, though the exact deadline can depend on the facts. It is best to act quickly regardless, because the surveillance video and security records that prove a negligent-security claim can be lost within days of the attack.
What is my assault and battery claim worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries and their lasting physical and emotional effect, not on an insurer’s first offer. A fair value accounts for medical care, lost income, scarring or disability, and the trauma, anxiety, and lasting fear that a violent attack so often causes.
Is the emotional trauma part of the claim?
Yes. The psychological harm of a violent attack, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, sleeplessness, and the effect on work and relationships, is real and compensable. Documenting it with the help of treating professionals is an important part of valuing the claim fully and honestly.
Do I need a lawyer for this?
For a serious attack, yes. These cases require identifying the right defendant, finding the insurance that can pay, and preserving evidence before it disappears, all while you recover. Your own advocate handles the investigation and the insurer with discretion, so you can focus on healing.
What does hiring you cost?
Nothing upfront. These cases are handled on a contingency fee, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover for you, and the first consultation is free and private. That lets you pursue a full recovery without any financial risk of your own.
Do you handle assault cases beyond Brockton?
Yes. We represent assault and battery victims across Massachusetts, not only in Brockton, including Boston and the surrounding communities. Wherever the attack happened, we can find the responsible parties, preserve the evidence, and pursue the full recovery you are owed.
Results Disclaimer: Past case results, settlements, and verdicts mentioned on this website do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Every case is unique and depends on its own facts and legal issues.