What we don't know is what preceded this incident. Was he hitting him in the head or was he just touching him on top of the head like a brother might do? Y'all are crazy.

Chances are the son’s school already knows about the incident in some capacity. Because the son is 18, however, they are communicating with him directly and not OP. If this took place in a public part of the dorms or if OP’s son was visibility injured after the fact, a residence life staffer would have been witness to the aftermath or would have caught wind of it. If OP’s son sought medical treatment on campus, word would also get back to the school. Penalties for the young man who did the punching would probably depend on the residence life contract, school rules about assault, and the level of culpability OP’s son is found to have. It’s quite possible that someone is “doing something.” Things like broken furniture or holes in the wall will sometimes go unaddressed in dorms, but when there is a person walking around with a broken jaw and witnesses who likely reacted loudly and probably continue to talk to each other and others, it’s less likely that the school won’t act in some way.

Of course, the school pursuing a punishment does not prevent OP from filing a small claim or civil suit. As others have mentioned, find out if there is a report already filed at the school first, so you know if your child is the victim or more of an instigator than it sounds in his telling. The school likely will not communicate with you directly because your son is an adult. If you go this direction, you’ll have to make your intentions clear to your son and have his cooperation so as to get the complete truth as early as possible.

I wonder if there is more history to this, outside of the night your son got thwacked.

Your son should tell the RA in the dorm, who will take it through official channels. If your son won't do it, you could bring it to the attention of anyone in the hierarchy (dorm director or dean of students or anyone in that chain) and they will know who the right person on campus is to get involved. (They will probably involve campus police, but this would be a less confrontational way for you to begin the process, and your son could always tell his friends that his mom just told the RA and not that his mom called the cops...)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, as an RA, here are things I know some 18 year old men did to each other that led to fights in the dorms:

Place a used condom on a roommate’s pillow.
Fart directly at a hallmate walking by
Press naked genitals against a roommate’s family photo of mom and two sisters.
Ejaculate in roommate’s 2 in 1 shampoo
Smush a rotted pickled egg on hallmate’s back

All of these things were done to humiliate the other man and establish dominance. In all cases, things only went to the j board after the victim physically retailiated and then the injured perp claimed to be playing.

So gross. I hope that they didn’t just punch the person in the face here as more would be so satisfying.

Not one of those things justifies BREAKING SOMEONES JAW by punching in the mouth.

It kind of does. At least it might be the only thing to straighten out an entitled as shole such as this man/these men.
And really the men who do it are doing women and society in general a great service in doing this. Might keep a future GF from being abused or having to defend herself similarly and it saves society money in criminal justice system costs if we’re lucky.

If anyone sues they should be aware that all court proceedings will be readily available to the public - future spouses & employers included- and everyone will know that said man got punched in the face for being an entitled, annoying a-hole.

It’s a little late to still be growing up but it’s worth a try.

That's not what the law says when it comes to assault/self-defense.

Anonymous wrote:To everyone claiming that breaking his jaw was not a proportional response or overly excessive, let me ask you this; do you think the boy MEANT to break his jaw?? Was that his goal? What if the boy had never punched anyone before & had no idea this could happen?

I'd be willing to guess that this other boy was just as shocked that his jaw was broken as everyone else was & probably felt an immediate sense of remorse.

That's what happens when you play stupid games - you get stupid prizes... and her son got his.

This whole entire incident began with her son putting his hands where they didn't belong - this ALL could have been avoided if he had just kept his hands to himself.

He was the instigator & the other boy got the better of him, but none of it would have happened if he had kept his hands OFF of ther other kid.

Ifthe school investigate's, her son will be investigated as well & if this boy receives disciplinary action, her son will most likely to.
It's cause & effect - if her son had never instigated it, he would have never gotten punched. Full stop.

If you're prepared to put your hands on someone else & invade their personal space, you'd better be prepared for the consequences as well. No jury would EVER award him $500,000 for being the cause to the other guys effect.

He can't cry victim just because the other guy finished what HE started.

I think many lawyers here would disagree with you (assuming OP's version of the facts in the original post was the truth).

What a crazy thread. Boy do some of you clearly get great satisfaction in coming down on OPs! Not her, just read over the whole thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^You are obviously not a lawyer and don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

Sorry, I didn't see the sign where it said lawyers only on DCUM.

GTFOH.

You can't opine on legal questions, get it wrong, then complain that the lawyers call you out for being dead wrong. The issue of intent is almost always related to "foreseeable consequences of your actions." There are varying levels of criminal "intent" and proportional response that could come into play if self-defense is asserted. But, at the most basic level, our legal system tends to holds people responsible for the natural, foreseeable consequences of their intentional actions. Hard to say that a broken jaw was not such a consequence of a punch.

The questions is not did the puncher intend to break the jaw, but did the puncher intend to punch someone in the face + is it foreseeable (by a reasonable person) that someone's jaw might break if you punch them in the face.

Anonymous wrote:^You are obviously not a lawyer and don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

Sorry, I didn't see the sign where it said lawyers only on DCUM.

GTFOH.

Anonymous wrote:^You are obviously not a lawyer and don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

+1. The only thing we know from OP is that her kid has a broken jaw. People go to jail over injuries like that. Everything else is some weirdo trolls spinning fantasies.

^You are obviously not a lawyer and don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

To everyone claiming that breaking his jaw was not a proportional response or overly excessive, let me ask you this; do you think the boy MEANT to break his jaw?? Was that his goal? What if the boy had never punched anyone before & had no idea this could happen?

I'd be willing to guess that this other boy was just as shocked that his jaw was broken as everyone else was & probably felt an immediate sense of remorse.

That's what happens when you play stupid games - you get stupid prizes... and her son got his.

This whole entire incident began with her son putting his hands where they didn't belong - this ALL could have been avoided if he had just kept his hands to himself.

He was the instigator & the other boy got the better of him, but none of it would have happened if he had kept his hands OFF of ther other kid.

Ifthe school investigate's, her son will be investigated as well & if this boy receives disciplinary action, her son will most likely to.
It's cause & effect - if her son had never instigated it, he would have never gotten punched. Full stop.

If you're prepared to put your hands on someone else & invade their personal space, you'd better be prepared for the consequences as well. No jury would EVER award him $500,000 for being the cause to the other guys effect.

He can't cry victim just because the other guy finished what HE started.

Anonymous wrote:If I were OP I'd be worried what kind of son I had raised. An adult touching another adult repeatedly against their wishes. I wouldn't be surprised if both students end up in trouble if this is publicized...

If I were OP, I'd be worried about my son's broken jaw! That's a major medical issue. No administrator or police has complained about her son's actions, so you're just speculating.

If I were OP I'd be worried what kind of son I had raised. An adult touching another adult repeatedly against their wishes. I wouldn't be surprised if both students end up in trouble if this is publicized...

^BTW, OP. If RA or RD, knowing the facts, suggests police, I see no problem. Punching someone in the face is not an appropriate response to being touched on the head. If the facts are exactly as you believe them to be, police involvement and RL involvement are warranted. However, my opinion changes if the facts are anything other than as you described them to be.