Legal Definitions - aggressor doctrine

The aggressor doctrine is a legal principle that generally prevents an individual who initiates a physical confrontation from suing for injuries they sustained during that confrontation.

In simpler terms, if you are the one who starts a fight or acts in a way that would reasonably provoke another person to use physical force to defend themselves, you typically cannot claim damages for any harm you suffer as a result. However, there is a crucial exception: this doctrine does not apply if the person you provoked used excessive or unreasonable force to repel you, going beyond what was necessary for legitimate self-defense.

Here are a few examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Barroom Shove
  Imagine Mark and Sarah are at a bar. Mark, feeling agitated, verbally insults Sarah and then lightly shoves her shoulder. Sarah, startled, pushes Mark back to create distance, causing him to stumble and scrape his knee. If Mark were to sue Sarah for his scraped knee, the aggressor doctrine would likely prevent him from recovering damages. Mark was the initial aggressor by shoving Sarah, and Sarah's defensive push would likely be considered a reasonable response, not excessive force, given the provocation.

• Example 2: Parking Lot Confrontation
  During a heated argument over a parking space, David steps out of his car and aggressively lunges at Emily, attempting to grab her arm. Emily quickly steps back and, in self-defense, pushes David away, causing him to lose his balance and fall, spraining his wrist. If David tried to sue Emily for his sprained wrist, the aggressor doctrine would likely apply. David's aggressive lunge made him the aggressor, and Emily's push to defend herself would likely be seen as a reasonable and proportionate response, not excessive force.

• Example 3: Excessive Response
  Consider a situation where Lisa, frustrated during a casual game of basketball, lightly shoves Tom. Tom, enraged by the minor shove, immediately tackles Lisa to the ground, breaking her arm, even though Lisa was no longer posing any threat after the initial contact. In this scenario, while Lisa was the initial aggressor with the light shove, Tom's response of tackling her and breaking her arm would likely be considered excessive force. The aggressor doctrine's exception would apply here, potentially allowing Lisa to sue Tom for her broken arm, despite being the initial aggressor, because Tom's defensive action was disproportionate and unreasonable given the minor provocation.