I Intentionally Punched And Then Tripped Someone Who Was Harassing Me. They Fell And May Have Broken Ribs.

Location: Ohio

Noting the coincidence of the fact there is another popular thread about this happening at a grocery store.

I went to Wal-Mart earlier today to grab a few things and there was a guy outside putting his phone in peoples faces and following them around.

When I walked by, he came right up to me and put his phone in my face (within 6 inches of my nose). I swiped at his phone and knocked it out of his hand and he got in my face and started yelling about assault and needing to pay for a new phone. I told him to back off, but he just kept yelling. He backed me up against a wall and kept coming closer so I swung and hit him in the side of the face and I tried to make some distance between us. He ran towards me and I instinctively moved out of the way and put my leg out. He tripped and slammed the ground pretty hard and started screaming for someone to call an ambulance.

I am a nurse, so I stayed there and made sure he didn’t hit his head or start coughing up blood until paramedics and police came. He was holding his ribs so I assume they were broken or bruised. Police took my statement and my information, and while they were getting witness statements, I stepped away to go get my phone out of the car to call my wife, and when I came back the police were driving away with sirens on as if they were going to another call. I assumed they’d follow up with me or let me know if I’m in any actual trouble but I’ve never been in a situation like this before so I don’t know.

I’m not sure what to expect from all this, but I’m feeling like I should contact a lawyer and get the ball rolling because I definitely feel like he’s going to find a variety of reasons to sue me.

Is there any way I can better protect myself? Is there anything I can do to make sure I’m not spending all my money defending myself?