Assault and battery are both civil and criminal.  You can sue your nephew for assault and battery.  These would be separate causes of action (claims) in your lawsuit.Assault is intentionally placing one in reasonable apprehension of an immediate battery without consent or legal privilege.  Assault does not require any physical contact; only being in apprehension of the immediate battery.  Battery is the physical contact.  Battery is the harmful or offensive touching of the person of another without consent or legal privilege.Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit for assault and battery) would be your medical bills, pain and suffering and documentation of wage loss.  Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement.  The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering, which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.  Compensation for wage loss is straight reimbursement.  In your lawsuit for assault and battery, you can seek punitive damages for the intentional and malicious acts of your nephew.  Punitive damages are a substantial amount to punish the defendant for his wrongful conduct.The civil case and criminal case are separate.  You can contact the police and file criminal charges against your nephew for assault and battery.