Thinking About Grabbing A Weapon In A Fight? These Outcomes Are Likely
When you're in a physical confrontation with a neighbor, stranger, or anyone else, making smart decisions — such as ending the fight before it gets more serious — can be difficult. If your opponent is getting the worst of you, you may make the split-second decision to grab a weapon to gain the upper hand. Regardless of what you grab, however, it's important to be able to identify that doing so will only lead to bad things. You could already be facing an assault charge from your role in the fight, but a weapon in your hands will likely result in these three undesirable effects.
Worse Injuries
Although plenty of people can do serious damage to other individuals with their hands and feet, the odds of your opponent getting more severely injured when you pick up a weapon in a fight are higher. In the moment, this might not bother you — after all, you may wish to cause harm to him or her. Unfortunately, even a simple weapon such as a stick, rock, or bat can immeasurably cause more harm to your opponent than you could cause with your body.
Additional Charges
A charge of assault is serious in its own right, but you'll likely face additional charges as soon as you pick up a weapon. Depending on the laws of your state, you could be charged with assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, or even felonious assault. The legal ramifications of these additional charges will be more serious than a simple assault charge, and you could be facing jail time directly as a result of your decision to arm yourself with some type of weapon.
More Expenses
There's a considerable chance that your opponent will take legal action against you as a result of his or her injuries — which, again, are likely to be worse because you armed yourself. Injuries that are more severe will require more in medical expenses to deal with, and this can include care for not only the physical injuries, but also the emotional turmoil that has resulted from the assault. When the victim pursues a lawsuit against you, his or her attorney will be seeking more in damages — and this can mean that your choice to pick up a weapon will take a lot of money out of your pocket. Your attorney who specializes in assault cases will work on your behalf, but you should realize the predicament that you can place yourself in simply by grabbing a weapon.
If you have questions about criminal law, contact law firms such as Daniels Long & Pinsel for more information.