ABA Family Legal Guide

Personal Injury

Intentional Wrongs

Someone broke into my house in the middle of the night and attacked me. I chased and knocked down the culprit running down the street. Will I be liable to him?

If you reasonably believe someone broke into your house and attacked you, you have the right to defend yourself by injuring him. If you believe someone is about to inflict bodily harm, you may use nondeadly force to defend yourself. In situations in which you believe an intruder is about to inflict death or serious bodily harm, courts allow you to use deadly force. The question then becomes whether the force you used was reasonable under the circumstances.

In this particular case, if the culprit was already running down the street, courts may say that there was no longer danger to you or your property. Then, outrageous as it sounds, you might well be liable for the injuries you caused to the culprit.