TMZ is reporting that Lindsay Lohan is a suspect in a criminal battery case after she allegedly got into a fight with a staff member at the Betty Ford Clinic.  Citing police sources, there was apparently a call at 1:03am on December 12, 2010 for “hand-to-hand battery.”  The staffer allegedly wants to press charges.  TMZ continues to report that Lohan could face up to 6 months in jail based on a violation of her probation. 

Lohan has responded that she was not the first person to throw a punch.  She does admit that she pushed back (again, according to TMZ).  All of this is apparently a reaction to her coming in after curfew.  Lohan claims that she was “unfairly” scolding her and demanded that she take a drug/alcohol test.  Lohan then claims that the woman put her hands on her, to which Lohan responded “Take your hands off of me” and then “pushed back.”  Lohan believes she is being unfairly singled out.   

Suing For Battery or Assault

Lohan should feel safe in a rehab facility.  This is not the place for a person to get into a fight with staff, though in some circumstances it is a relatively common occurrence for those coming off of drugs or other substances to be combative.  The big question here is whether Lohan was the first person to touch the other person.  If the staffer touched Lohan first, then Lohan could claim she was simply protecting herself.  However, if the staffer was only tapping her on the shoulder, and  Lohan punched her, that would be a battery.  When someone touches you, punches you, kicks you, etc. it is called a battery.  This is in contrast to an assault, which is an act that causes another to apprehend an immediate harmful contact.  However, there doesn’t need to be any actual contact. If there is contact, then there might be a claim for battery.  

What do you think?  Is Lindsay really just someone that constantly gets singled out, or is this just another example of her thinking she is above the law?  She was late for her curfew and it appears she avoided a drug/alcohol test even after she apparently was living at a satellite facility that threw a huge alcohol fueled party.