ABSTRACT
Prima facie, any touching of another without consent amounts to a civil assault/battery or trespass to the person. The patient may, therefore, sue for damages for the battery which is committed if non-consensual treatment is carried out. However, a claim may also lie under the tort of negligence. An action for battery arises when the plaintiff has been physically touched by the defendant without the defendant’s consent, express or implied, to such touching. In an action for battery, there is no need to establish loss as a result of the touching, so long as the plaintiff can establish that the defendant wrongfully touched him. Hence, where there is no consent whatever to the physical contact, a civil action for battery would be appropriate.
