Understanding the Difference Between Simple and Aggravated Assault
If you have been charged with assault in Pennsylvania, the severity of the consequences you may face depend directly on the level of anger with which you acted. Any attack on a person is considered assault, and the state laws break these attacks into two types—simple and aggravated. The penalties for both are serious, and you could be facing fines, jail time and a permanent record. Simple Assault Simple assault is a misdemeanor offense that encompasses a variety of actions towards another person. For example, you can be charged with simple assault for intentionally slapping someone across the face in the middle of an argument. If you try to hit someone, and miss, you can still be charged with simple assault. This crime is also used if you injure someone with a deadly weapon through your own negligence, like accidentally firing a gun and hitting another person. You can also be charged with simple assault if you are acting in a threatening or menacing way and those actions cause someone to think that you are putting them in danger or that you will harm them. Most simple assault charges are 2nd degree misdemeanors that could lead to two years behind bars. However, some misdemeanor offenses are handled differently with different consequences. You could be charged with a 1st degree misdemeanor if you are over 21, and the person you are accused of assaulting is under 12. You may also be charged with a 3rd degree misdemeanor for situations in which you were not acting alone (i.e., you are not the only one involved in a bar fight). In Pennsylvania, the penalty for a 1st degree misdemeanor is a maximum of 5 years in jail and up to a year for a 3rd degree misdemeanor. Aggravated Assault Depending on what happened in your case, you can be charged with aggravated assault as a 1st or 2nd degree felony. The state’s law defines aggravated assault as any attempt to “cause serious bodily injury to another,” or any injury that was caused intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly, with “extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Serious bodily harm is considered an injury that causes permanent loss (such as the loss of a limb or function), impairment or disfigurement. It is also considered serious bodily harm if a person’s life is in imminent danger, which typically includes the use of deadly weapons. Second-degree aggravated assault is one that does not result in serious bodily injury to an alleged victim. If you’re convicted of this crime, you may be facing up to 10 years behind bars and up to $25,000 in fines. Aggravated assault that does cause serious bodily injury is charged as a 1st degree felony, and has the same maximum fine, but could lead to up to 20 years in prison. If you have been charged with either type of assault in Pennsylvania, our team of attorneys is available to help you proceed with your defense. As you can see, there are many factors involved in both simple and aggravated assault, and we can help you navigate the penalties and potential outcomes of your particular case.
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Wrongful Death and Survival Action – Which is Right for Your Family After the Loss of a Loved One? When you lose a loved one, it can be difficult to think beyond the immediate—why was that person taken from you, and what will your life look like without him or her? When the person you lost was killed as a result of someone else’s negligence or intentional actions, it can be even harder to process. But families who have lost loved ones due to another person’s fault must understand their options for taking legal action against the responsible parties, under Pennsylvania’s wrongful death or survival action laws. Both survival action and wrongful death are types of civil litigation recognized under Pennsylvania’s laws, and these laws govern who can take legal action, how these family members should proceed, and what damages they can seek. Wrongful Death A wrongful death claim is made by the people who are most impacted by the death of the victim, and Pennsylvania law allows only the spouse, parents, or children of the person who has died to file a wrongful death lawsuit. In the unlikely event that there the decedent does not have a spouse, parent, or child to file, the personal representative who is handling the decedent’s estate is allowed to file the lawsuit. In a wrongful death lawsuit, the family seeks restitution for the losses that they have suffered as a result of their loved one’s death. These losses can be financial, such as loss of income or financial support, particularly if the deceased was a primary breadwinner, expenses for medical care, and funeral costs, as well as personal—loss of companionship, comfort, love, consortium, and other relationship roles the deceased fulfilled. The financial values sought in these cases can usually be calculated, but the personal losses are much harder to quantify. The juries who hear these cases are instructed to come up with a value that they believe fairly covers the relationships held by the victim and the survivors, and that meets the circumstances of the victim’s death. No matter what the deceased’s will stipulates, any proceeds from a wrongful death lawsuit will be distributed equally among the family members, following the rules of interstate succession. Survival Actions Unlike wrongful death lawsuits, survival action lawsuits are aimed at getting restitution for the injuries the victim would have been able to claim, and the damages he would have been able to seek, if he were still alive. These cases usually focus on the pain and suffering that the victim would have endured during the accident, and in the moments before his death. While in some cases this timeframe is short—a matter of minutes in a car accident, for example, other cases could involve weeks or even years of suffering. Survival action claims often rely on the testimony of witnesses at the scene of the accident and expert witnesses who can speak to medical and emotional trauma. In Pennsylvania, these claims can only be filed by the decedent’s personal representative, and damages awarded in a survival action case go to the estate. Speak With an Attorney This overview should help you and your family understand how Pennsylvania law differentiates between these two types of claims, but in your time of grief, an experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine the best course of action and will advise you on how to handle the circumstances of your particular case. |
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