A more thorough explanation:

Definition: Battery is an intentional tort or a criminal offense that involves the unlawful application of force directly or indirectly upon another person or their personal belongings, causing bodily injury or offensive contact.

In tort law, battery occurs when a person intentionally causes harmful or offensive contact with another person. This means that the person acted with a desire to bring about the contact or knew that the consequence of that contact is substantially likely to occur. The contact must be of a harmful or offensive nature, which means that it causes physical impairment or injury or makes a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities feel threatened.

For example, if someone punches another person in the face, that would be considered battery because it is an intentional act that causes harmful contact. However, if the plaintiff expressly consented to such an act or gave implied consent by participating in a particular event or situation (e.g., playing sports with the defendant), they are not liable.

Even if the plaintiff doesn’t suffer actual damages, they can claim nominal damages. Thus, their proof of actual harm is not required in a battery. If a defendant acts with malice (e.g., deliberate disregard of a high probability of harm), the plaintiff may claim punitive damages. For unforeseen consequences, the defendant may still be liable under the “eggshell rule.” For instance, if the defendant punched a plaintiff who happened to have hemophilia and bled to death, he or she was liable for all damages relating to the wrongful death.

In criminal law, battery is typically merged with assault into the one crime of "assault." Battery is a general intent crime, which means that it doesn’t require a specific mens rea. The attempt of battery is assault.

To defend battery, the defendant can prove that they obtained the plaintiff’s consent or that they acted for the defense of others or in self-defense, even if the defense is only reasonable belief and not fact.

Aggravated battery is battery that involves an aggravating circumstance. Liability and sentencing for aggravated battery is typically harsher than that for battery.

The prima facie case for battery contains 4 components:

• The defendant acts
• The defendant intends to cause contact with the victim
• The defendant's contact with the victim is harmful or offensive
• The defendant's contact causes the victim to suffer a contact that is harmful or offensive

For example, if someone intentionally hits another person with a baseball bat, that would be considered battery because it meets all four components of the prima facie case. The defendant acted intentionally, intended to cause contact with the victim, the contact was harmful, and it caused the victim to suffer harm.